Fairytale: The Next Generation
by Baloo
Summary: ON HOLD - The couples from the original fairytales are fed up with their children, who are not living up to their fairytale heritage.
1. And they lived happily ever after

Summary:  This story is about the children of some of the original fairytale couples… the couples from Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty fairytales.  Let's just say that the children aren't living up to their fairytale heritage, and the parents are fed up.  So the parents decide that they might have to take an active part in getting their children to fulfill their "destinies."

Chapter 1:  A Prelude

"And they lived happily ever after"

Once upon a time, in three kingdoms far, far away, there lived three royal couples.  For each couple there was a story… a story of a time of great trials and tribulations, of witches and curses, evil stepsisters and general misery.  But time had seen the fulfillment of each couples' destiny, the good had been rewarded, the evil punished, and each princess found her Prince Charming.  Quite literally in fact, for by some strange twist of fate all three young men of the above mentioned couples had been born into royalty, and named Charming by their respective royal parents.  Needless to say, it was quite the source of confusion at social gatherings.

But alas, their wishes were fulfilled and a happy ending is an ending nonetheless, or so the six royals believed.  Yet those of us who are privy to the manner in which life carries on know that the ending to one story, even a happy one, is but the beginning of still another.

And that is the way in which life went on, for after marriage came children, and as the years passed on, the children grew.  The parents sat back and awaited the day when those of the next generation would seek and discover their own destinies, thus continuing the fairytale heritage.  But children rarely do as parents plan, and princes and princesses are no exception.


	2. Too pretty to be evil

Chapter 2:

Chapter 2

Kingdom One: "Too pretty to be evil"

** **

"Mother, father, it's only for a year and it's the opportunity of a lifetime," Vivienne, the eldest daughter of the woman formerly known as Cinderella—known now to friends and family as simply Ella—and the first of our Prince (well, King now) Charmings, appealed to her parents."I would be an apprentice to one of the most renowned mages in the whole land!"

"Vivienne, dear, you've heard our answer, and you've heard our reasons," her mother, Ella, replied to the frustrated young woman."Magic is so… unprincess-like," she explained, unconsciously touching up her already perfect blond hair.

"But mom, you used magic," their younger daughter, Lilith, pointed out as she swallowed a mouthful of chocolate chip cookies.

"Lily, please don't speak with your mouth full," her father reprimanded gently.

"Sowwy daddy," Lilith replied, working her way through another cookie.

"I think you've had enough of those cookies already.You'll spoil your appetite for dinner," her father continued.

"Don't worry," Lilith smiled brightly as she patted her stomach, "I have plenty of room for both."

"Don't I know it," Ella muttered beneath her breath, shaking her head at her youngest daughter's "unprincess-like" appetite."Lilith, darling, _I _did not use magic.My fairy godmother assisted me through _her_ use of magic."She let out a mental sigh.It seemed no matter how many times she told her daughters that story she was having to continually correct them on the finer details of it.

In response Lilith gave a shrug that indicated that she failed to see the difference between the two statements.

"But it doesn't matter mother," Vivienne interjected."Regardless of who used the magic, you would not be where you are today if it weren't for magic.So I don't see how you of all people can look down it as you do."

"Vivienne, I do not look down on magic, and I am perfectly aware of what it's done for me, young lady," Ella replied hotly.Then she took a deep calming breath and spoke in a softer voice, "It's just that, only a certain class of people practice magic: either those who are born with it, or witches and sorcerers."

"Oh please mother," Vivienne responded, rolling her eyes."There are so such things as 'witches.'People only call them witches _because_ they practice magic.It's circular reasoning."

Ella let out another mental sigh and sent a look toward her husband._See_.She had always been of the opinion that their daughters would be better off with a "reasonable" amount of education… as much as would be required of a princess, or future queen.Her husband, however, had insisted that if the girls _wanted_ to learn, they should be provided with the opportunity to do so.And look what that had gotten them: a disobedient, argumentative daughter who wanted to practice magic!

"Fine," she replied, giving Vivienne that point, "But you know how it is in our world… only the ugly daughter is supposed to practice magic.And then she places a curse on her pretty sister."

"Right," her husband chimed in, having recognized the reason behind the look she had sent him, and thus eager to appease her."Why would you want to do that; you're not the ugly daughter."

There were several seconds of silence as the implications of that statement hung in the air, before three sets of eyes turned toward the youngest princess, who stood staring at her parents, eyes filling with tears and lips quivering.

"I mean you're not _an_ ugly daughter.Because we have no ugly daughters.Both of our daughters are tremendously beautiful," he quickly continued.But it was too late, and the damage had been done.Lilith dropped the rest of the cookies that had been clutched in her hands and ran from the room bawling loudly."Lily, darling, wait!" the king called out as he followed after her.

"Good lord," Ella sighed."Sometimes I wonder why I married him."

"Because you didn't want to spend the rest of your life slaving after your stepsisters," Vivienne suggested as she plopped down on a couch.

"Oh, right."

Ella sat down next to her daughter and took one of her hands in her own."Vivienne, you know that I only want what's best for you.And frankly, at this age, there's really only one thing that you should be thinking about."

"And that is?" Vivienne replied, her eyes narrowing because she was already pretty sure what that "one thing" was.

"Marriage, of course, dear."

Pushing back the feeling of incredible outrage, she asked, "And to whom?"

"Well," Ella replied, suddenly quite fidgety, "your father and I have been discussing this… and you know my friend Snow has a son about your age… Prince Valor, you've met him—"

"Mother!"

"What?"

"No!"

"You didn't even think about it!" Ella protested.

"Just like you didn't think about my request?"Mother and daughter glared at each other, locked in a battle of wills.

"Oh, Vivienne," Ella protested in one last attempt to convince her daughter of the rightness of her decision, "A whole year away from home… and an _apprentice_—it even _sounds_ common."She sighed aloud as she wondered why her daughter simply couldn't be happy being what she was—a princess.How could a child ask for more?!Finally, she decided to give a little."Alright, your father and I will reconsider your request."

Vivienne gave her mother a little smile."And I guess I'll reconsider yours."

Of course, what neither knew was that mother and daughter were more alike than anyone had foreseen, and neither had plans to give on her decision.

Just then the king entered the room, smiling brightly."Disaster averted," he announced happily.

"And how did you manage that?" his wife asked.

"Triple layer chocolate cake."

Ella sighed in exasperation."You shouldn't encourage her like that."

Charming took a seat across from his wife and daughter and asked innocuously, "Encourage what?"

"Her eating, of course!" Ella replied sharply."She's not a child anymore.She should place more care in her appearance, and it has to start with all that extra weight she's carrying about."

"Oh, that," the king said, waving his hand."That's just baby fat."

"She's fifteen!"

"Look, Ella," Charming answered, a stern expression on his face, "You know that most of the time I just go along with what you decide, but this time I have to put my foot down.Lily is my baby, and if a little chocolate cake now and then makes her happy, then let it be."

The queen glared at her husband."It's not a 'little' chocolate cake.It's a _whole_ chocolate cake.And it's not 'every now and then'; more like four or five times a day.And she is not a 'baby', she's almost a woman!"

"It doesn't matter," Charming answered back."I am not going to try to change her, and neither are you."From the look on his face, it was obvious that as far as he was concerned, the matter was settled and no amount of arguing was going to change his mind.

Vivienne, from where she sat forgotten by both parents, gave a silent cheer for her father.It wasn't often that he stood up to his wife… in fact, it wasn't often that anyone, with the exception of Vivienne herself, stood up to Queen Ella.

Which was exactly why Ella was left so disoriented after the experience."Fine," she huffed."I'm washing my hands of the whole thing, and from now on it's your problem.Don't complain to me when her time comes and you can't find any suitable matches because no eligible young prince is willing to marry her."And with that final statement she stalked out of the room, regally as only a queen could.

There was a moment of silence in the room after her exit as the king contemplated his latest interaction with his wife.Vivienne cleared her throat, aware that her father had all but forgotten about her presence."Wow, dad, that took a lot of ba—" (oops, too "unprincessy") "—guts."

"Hmm… oh, Vivienne!" Charming spoke as his gaze settled on his eldest daughter."Now, darling, I don't want you to think that I don't support your mother in her decisions—"

"Oh please, dad," Vivienne interrupted, rolling her eyes."You don't have to cover your a—" (damn! what was with her today?) "—back with me.You have to admit, she is something of a—"

"Overbearing, self-righteous, megalomaniacal control freak."This time her father interrupted her.

Vivienne was slightly taken aback."Um, yeah."

Charming sighed."She has good intentions, really.All she wants is for you girls to have the best—everything she didn't have when she was growing up."

"Even if that isn't what we want?" Vivienne asked, hoping that perhaps if she could convince her father, he might convince his wife."Even if it isn't what makes us happy?"

"Oh no," the king replied, suddenly jumping up from his seat and shaking his head adamantly."You're not pulling me into this one.I've already shared one dissenting opinion, and that should hold me over for the next month, at least."

"Daddy—" his daughter protested as she stood to face her father.

"Don't 'daddy' me.I'm not that gullible, you know.Living with you three, I've learned some things over the past few years."

"But dad!" Vivienne persisted as she watched her father fleeing from the room.

"Sorry, darling, I'd love to help you, but you know your mother and I value my life."

For several moments Vivienne continued to stand and watch after the door from which each member of her family had successively exited.All her anger and feelings of impotence returned in full force and she had the sudden need to vent.In aggravation, she kicked the leg of the nearest table, temporarily forgetting just how sturdy and exquisitely crafted the furniture that royalty could afford was.

"Son-of-a—!" she yelped in pain.Her need for physical release of her anger gone just as suddenly as it had appeared, she fell back onto the couch, her eyes watering with the tears of pain and frustration that threatened to spill over.After a great pause she managed to blink them away and heaved a great sigh."I sure could use a fairy godmother right about now."


	3. Virtue, Valor and Extortion

Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Kingdom 2:"Virtue, Valor… and Extortion"**

The dull clang of practice swords meeting, blow for blow, echoed through the all but empty courtyard.Thrust.Parry.Jab.The two young fighters carried on until one managed to knock the weapon from the other's hand.In his haste to retreat from his opponent, the unarmed young man tripped over a wayward cobblestone and landed hard on the ground, only to find the dull edge of the other's sword keeping him from getting back up.

"Really, Emilio, you can do better than that," the victor chastised.

"No, I can't.I'm just a stable hand!" Emilio exclaimed once the sword was removed from his throat.

"A poor excuse.Stable hand or not, you've been doing this almost as long as I have… you should have been able to avoid that last move," his partner continued, shifting a clumsily fitted steel helmet.

Emilio glared at his friend.Too sweaty, sore and tired to put up with even the mild rebuke, he snapped, "Yes, maybe, if I weren't already exhausted from doing my work.Unlike some spoiled princesses, I don't have all the time in the world to rest up between practice sessions."

"I am not a spoiled princess!" his companion exclaimed indignantly, pulling her helmet off her head, letting her unruly auburn hair tumble down.

As Emilio moved to pick himself up off the ground, he found a foot placed squarely on his chest, just before he was shoved back down.With an amused smile, he asked, "Tell me, Vir, what bothers you more—the 'spoiled' part, or the 'princess' part?"

An angry glare was his only response.Emilio sighed and this time when he tried to get up, he did so successfully, and without any interference."I don't see why it bothers you so much.You _are_ a princess.And besides, there are so many people who would jump at the chance to be in your position."

"It bothers me," the princess replied with forced calmness, "because I don't want to be a princess.I want to be a knight, and I can't be one because no one wants to see me as anything more than a princess."

Before Emilio could reply, to apologize to his friend, a new figure entered the courtyard and interrupted the conversation."Princess Virtue," announced the middle-aged woman, Florence, a long-time servant of the royal family, who had seen through the birthing and rearing of both the royal children.A generally good and kind person, dear old Florence had the simple, yet annoying, drawback of being a fretfully anxious person.As was usual in any situation where the possibility of unpleasantness loomed nearby, she relayed in her agitated manner, "Your mother, the Queen, has requested your presence."

The princess grunted, annoyed with both the inevitable clash with her mother, and the use of her proper name.At the age of sixteen, being fully aware of all the implications of that name, Vir (as she preferred to be called) found it to be a source of great embarrassment, never failing to cause her to shudder inwardly whenever she was addressed so in public.

**************************

Clang.Clang.Clang.

"Dear god, don't let that be what I think it is," Queen Snow groaned as she awaited the arrival of her children in the drawing room.Her fears were confirmed when her only daughter entered dressed in the complete body armor of a knight.

"Where did you get that?" Snow asked disdainfully, indicating her daughter's outfit.

"I found it," Vir answered evasively, shifting her glance about nervously.

"Found it where?" her mother asked wearily in a manner that indicated that the pair had held many similar conversations in the past.

A moment's pause as Vir contemplated whether the truth or a fabrication would be the best solution.Finally, she settled on the truth."In the armor room."

"Virtue—"

"Vir."

"—you know that armor is for the knights and soldiers.You're not supposed to take it without permission."

"I wouldn't have had to, mom, if you'd given me permission when I asked."

"I didn't give you permission because I didn't want you to take it."

"Exactly.So the only way I could take it was without permission."

"Virtue!"

"Vir."

"Put the armor back, and don't take it out again.You are not a knight, nor will you ever be one.You're a princess," her mother declared firmly.

"Why can't I be both?" Vir insisted.

"Because you can't."

"But _why_?"

"You just can't.That's how things are.Princesses are princesses.Noblemen are knights."

"Oh, mom, you're so old-fashioned.You're constrained by society's perceptions of 'traditional' roles," Vir said, rolling her eyes.

"And you are constrained by my perceptions of appropriate roles for you," Snow replied.

Giving up on the argument temporarily, Vir turned to the matter at hand."Why did you want to see me?"

The queen rubbed her temples wearily, grateful that her daughter had decided to let the issue drop, but suddenly faced with the problems of her other child."Actually, I wanted to see both you and your brother, together.But it seems that your brother has decided he no longer has to respond to my requests.At least, not when they're delivered by my servants."

"You want me to go get him?" Vir offered.

"If you think you have a chance at succeeding, please do try."

"I'll get him here," her daughter replied confidently, a small smile on her face.

"In one piece, please," Snow requested as she watched the princess leave the room, not at all liking the crafty expression she couldn't quite manage to keep off her face.

"No problem."

"And keep yourself that way too!"

**************************

"Wakey, wakey, dear brother."

A muffled groan escaped from the pile of blankets and limbs that was the prince, Valor."G'way, Vir.'Stoo early for this."

With a clatter of metal that sent forth a spew of curses from her brother, Vir plopped onto a small vacant patch on the bed."It's late afternoon."

One tired bloodshot eye peered out from the darkness beneath the covers."Still too early."

Shifting to a more comfortable position, "Mom wants to see us both."

"Ouch!Watch the armor!"

"Sorry."

"Bout what?"

"I don't know.She wouldn't say until you came down."There was an extended period of silence during which Vir began to suspect that her brother had fallen asleep."Val?"

"Hrmph…?"

"Are you coming?"

A deep and mournful sighed was heard before the prince's tousled dark head emerged from underneath the blankets.A pair of bloodshot eyes squinted against the sudden light that assaulted them."I'm coming."

Vir wrinkled her nose in disgust."You might want to bathe first.You smell worse than Uncle Grumpy did that time he passed out drunk in the livery and one of the horses ended up relieving itself on him."

"Screw off…" Val muttered.

"Sound like him too."

**************************

Of the two, Vir was the first to arrive back at the drawing room, having changed out of the earlier armor into something that her mother would find more "appropriate" for her daughter to wear.Upon her entrance, she was surprised to discover that her father had managed to join them during her absence.

"Dad!You're here," she exclaimed cheerfully.

"Shhh, honey, daddy has a headache," the king replied, wincing.

"Uh huh," Vir said rolling her eyes.Like father, like son.She looked over at her mother who sat glaring at her husband.By the tension in the room, it was clear the couple had had some sort of argument just prior to their daughter's arrival and Vir had a good idea that it had something to do with her father's present condition.

"Where's your brother?" Snow inquired.

"Right here," a strained voice answered from the doorway.

Mother glanced at her son, noting that despite his attempt to clean up, it was quite evident what had sort of activities had kept the prince occupied the previous night.Sparing another glance toward her husband, she thought, probably the same sort of activities that had kept his father occupied.

Val quickly took a seat across from his parents, and tired and shaky legs not capable of holding up for long."You wanted to see me?"

"Us," Vir corrected.

"Yes, _we_ did," the queen replied, glancing pointedly at her husband.

The king, who seemed to have managed to get his headache under control, looked up at his son for the first time, taking in his haggard appearance."What happened to you?"

"Um," the prince stumbled, "I think I'm just coming down with something.What about you?" he asked, hoping to divert his father's attention.

"Oh," the king replied, equally taken aback by the question."I think I caught the same thing that you did… it seems to be going around."

Hearing her father and brother's answers, Vir let out a snort.

"Virtue!" Snow admonished."That's no way for a princess to act."

"Right, like we're so into 'proper appearances' in this family," Vir scoffed.

Opting to ignore that last comment, Snow continued, "Valor, darling, your father and I both agree that it's time for you to settle down and have a family."

"Huh?"Val was speechless.Clearly, this was not a conversation that he had been expecting to have, at least not anytime soon.

"You're getting married, " Snow declared.

"I thought I was hung over, but apparently I'm still drunk," the prince muttered to himself.After a pause, a rather large question appeared in his rather muddled mind."To who?"

"To Princess Vivienne, daughter of King Charming and Queen Ella," his mother answered.

"And why exactly would I agree to marry someone I barely even know?"

"Because," here the king decided to enter the conversation, "we said so.And since we decide who will succeed to the throne after us, it might be in your best interest to do as we tell you to."

Pause."Good enough for me."

"Wait a minute," Vir interjected."If Val goes through with this wedding, he's guaranteed the throne after you… so what reason would I have to listen to you?"

"Virtue…"

"Hah!You've used up your trump card.I don't have to listen to a word you say.I can become a knight!" the princess declared triumphantly.

"Not exactly," her father said, interrupting her celebration.

"Why's that?" she asked, eyes narrowing.

"Because you would have to be knighted by the ruling monarch."

"Ah, shit!"

"Virtue!"

**************************

"That was pretty easy, considering," Snow told her husband after their children had left.

"Hmm, I guess as long as you know what your children want most, and then hold it over their heads, you can get them to do pretty much anything."The couple shared a little laugh that parents often do in private, when they've bested their children and gotten them to defer to their wishes.

"I hope it went just as well for Ella and Vivienne."


	4. Good heirs are hard to come by

**Chapter 4**

Kingdom 3:  "Good heirs are hard to come by"

Under the shade of a large oak tree rooted within the depths of the palace garden, seeking respite from both the sun and his family, the eldest child of King Charmant and Queen Briar Rose attempted to nap inconspicuously.  Suddenly, the silence was shattered by single cry.  "Davey!"

David groaned and threw an arm over his eyes, awaiting the inevitable discovery.  Not one to disappoint, moments later, his five-year-old sister Rebecca came careening towards him, landing knees first onto his stomach.

"Oomf!" he wheezed.  But he recovered quickly, silently thankful that she was too small and light to cause much damage.  "How many times have I told you not to do that?"

"Sorry, Davey," Rebecca replied, blinking her big blue eyes innocently while making no move to get off him.

"Becca!" another voice called from nearby.

"Oh great," David grumbled.  "Did we decide to have a whole family gathering out here and no one remembered to tell me?"

Suddenly, a flash of colour burst into the clearing, and before either David or Rebecca could react, the flash dissolved into a flurry of limbs that landed right on top of their own ungainly pile.  Actually—and fortunate for little Rebecca—it landed mostly on top of David.

"See, told you he'd be out here," Rebecca declared triumphantly to ten-year-old Terrence.

After a brief but eternal moment during which he knew only intense pain and chaos, David managed to speak with a forced calmness.  "Terry."  Terry's blond head turned in the direction of his voice.  "If you don't move your foot, and soon, I will never know the joy of fatherhood."  There was a pause as he glanced down at the two bodies on top of him, one perched calmly, staring back at him intently, and the other entangled with his own, a seemingly endless supply of knees and elbows jabbing and poking him everywhere.  "On second thought, maybe you should just keep it there," he muttered.

Terrence managed to roll off and scramble to his feet, only causing a few additional bruises in the process.  "Sorry, David," he said somberly as he pulled Rebecca up as well.

David sighed and pulled himself up off the ground before anyone else could use him to break their fall.  Oh yes, there were going to be many bruises tomorrow.  "Well, where's the last one?" he asked, glancing around.

"Huh?" Terrence replied.  "Oh, Luke.  Um, I dunno."

"I saw him," Rebecca supplied helpfully.  "He said he was gonna go look for some, um... entertainment!" she finished, proud that she had remembered the rather large word.

"Entertainment?" David groaned.  "That can't be good."  Well, nothing really ever was when it came to Luke.  "Alright, let's go find him before he does too much damage."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In his fifteen years of experience, Luke had learned of one very important fact: being a prince was not all that it was cracked up to be.  In truth, it was a rather boring position to fill.  He rarely got to leave the castle, and never on his own, he saw the same people day in and day out, and it just wasn't much fun stealing from your own family.  No matter where he stowed anything, someone was bound to stumble onto it sooner or later (how could they not with that many people milling around the castle on a daily basis).  It was hardly even stealing at all.  More like spontaneous rearranging.

Okay, so he was a kleptomaniac, he admitted it.  Actually, he wasn't really ashamed of the fact, even though he knew his parents disapproved of the "habit", as they preferred to call it.  But he was a stifled kleptomaniac, living in an environment that deprived him of his primary pleasure.

Secretly, Luke wished he'd never been born a prince.  Perhaps, instead, a street urchin growing up on his own, learning to fend for himself.  Somewhere where a man's cunning and light hand were appreciated, where his talents could be cultivated.  He knew that if given the opportunity, he could make a great thief.  Really, what a waste!

And, unlike most second-born sons in similar positions, he did not envy David at all.  David, his father's heir, next in line for the throne to rule over the kingdom.  Luke knew he wasn't king material—a liar, a charmer, a thief, and cheat—all labels he would have worn proudly, if anyone had ever dared call a king's son that.  He wasn't even prince material, not that that made any difference.  "Born a prince, die a prince, and do all those boring princely things in the middle," he mumbled to himself as he roamed the castle's never-ending length of hallways.

Entertainment.  That's what he had told Rebecca he was looking for, but it appeared that entertainment did not want to be found.

Somehow, during his wanderings, he'd ended up in the kitchen, not usually a place that princes spent much time in, but there wasn't a room within the entire castle that Luke hadn't explored to the fullest extent.  Aside from all his other talents, he was also an excellent lock-pick.

"Now what?" he asked himself, looking around the busy room.  That was when he noticed a pretty young woman kneading dough, who kept glancing at him furtively.  Suddenly, Luke smiled, an idea forming within his head.

Plying on a heavy dose of charm, he walked toward her, greeting, "Why, hello there…"  Wait, what was her name?  He knew it, he was sure of it.  He'd seen her around plenty of times before, even spoken to her on occasion, just as he had with everyone in the castle at one point or another.  Mary.  Marie.  Margarine.  No, but close, really close.  Still something edible… or drinkable.  Martini.  Margarita.  That was it!  "…Marguerite."

Marguerite smiled shyly and stared down at the dough.  If she'd noticed the lengthy pause before he'd spoken her name, she hid it well.  "Good afternoon, your highness."

"Oh no, please," he said grinning disarmingly, his dimples adding an air of innocence about him, "just call me Luke.  'Your highness' is so formal.  It's more to my parents' tastes than my own."

"Oh, I couldn't," Marguerite said, shaking her head and blushing slightly.  She glanced around the room quickly, "I mean, it wouldn't be right."

Luke shrugged.  "Alright, it's your choice."  Not wanting to waste time in putting his plan into motion, he leaned towards her.  "So, what exactly is it that's occupying your time right now?"

"What?" she asked, looking up in confusion and finding herself staring right into his emerald-coloured eyes.  She quickly turned her attention back to the dough.  "Oh," she said, realizing what he was asking, "I'm, um, just preparing the bread… for dinner."

Luke's smile widened, having noticed her reaction.  This was going to be easier than he'd thought.  "Hmm… well, seeing as that I have nothing else to do, do you think I could help?"

"Help?  Make bread?" Marguerite looked around the room, wishing someone would call her over so she wouldn't have to worry about doing something to offend the prince or get her into trouble with any of the more senior servants.  Already she could see Esther, the head cook, glancing towards her suspiciously.  "I, uh, your highness--"

"Just let me add the spices, or whatever you put into it," Luke interrupted.  "Are these it?" he asked as he spotted a nearby spice rack.  Not waiting for an answer, he continued, "Which one is garlic?"

"Um, this one," Marguerite answered, pointing out the container.  "But, your highness, garlic…?"

"Oh yes," Luke replied fervently.  "Don't take this the wrong way, I do love the bread, but I've always thought there was a little something that could be added to really liven it up."

"And garlic would do this?"

"Yes, yes," Luke answered, shaking the ingredient into the dough that Marguerite had been working on.  Even with his limited knowledge of cooking, he knew he was putting far too much in, but that of course was the plan.  And Marguerite didn't dare reprimand the prince, which too was part of the plan.  After all, the goal was entertainment, and this would certainly provide some.

"There," Luke finally declared, putting the near-empty container back into the spice rack.  "This will be delicious.  I can hardly wait until dinner."  Marguerite responded with a weak smile.  "Now, you might want to mix it around a--"

"Luke," a stern voice interrupted.

Shit.  "Hello David," Luke replied, turning to face his older brother.  Of course, he had his little entourage with him; little Rebecca clinging to one hand and Terrence, his second shadow.

David glanced impassively from Luke to Marguerite, noting the expression on the young girl's face.  For some reason the image of reinforcements come too late came to his head, but having just arrived at the scene, he had no idea what was wrong.  And there was no way the girl would tell him, even if he sent Luke away and asked her in private.  Luke just had this hold over people that subsisted even after his presence was removed.

"What are you doing?"

Luke shrugged innocently.  "I was just bored, so I offered Marguerite here some help."

"Help with what?"

"Cooking, David," Luke replied, rolling his eyes as if to say 'we're in a kitchen, what do you think'?

"You offered to help her cook?" David repeated slowly.

"Yes, that I did.  But now I am finished, and I would like to move on to something else," Luke answered in a bored tone.  "Can I go?"

David didn't speak for a moment, trying to read his brother's behaviour.  Not that it did any good, considering the fact that all the talents the boy possessed related to lying and cheating.  "Feel free," he finally responded.

"I'll see you later, Marguerite," Luke said, just before pushing past Terrence.  "Outta the way, twerp," he mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear.

Terrence stuck out his tongue in response, although he did move aside to avoid being knocked down.  "Whatever, Lucy."

Watching him leave, David was confronted with a feeling that whatever Luke had done was going to come back to haunt them all before the day's end.  His thoughts were interrupted, however, when he felt a tug on his hand.  He looked down at Rebecca.

"I have to pee."

Jeez.  A castle full of servants, and he was the one who always ended up playing babysitter.

TBC

A/N:  Since this is going to be a lot longer than the last two chapters, I decided to split chapter 4 into 2 parts.  So for those of you wondering "what about the parents?"… I'll get to them yet.  Hey, since there's twice as many kids it should be twice as long, right?  It's only fair to them, and while fate can be cruel, I am not.  Or is that "since fate can be cruel, so can I"…


	5. Dinner with the royals

A/N:  Alright, you convinced me.  Thanks to all of you who made me "see the light."  I'm starting to feel a little guilty about even suggesting I'd abandon it, but once I started writing again, I realized I liked some of the characters far too much to just let them go (I won't say which ones because I don't want to play faves).

So here you go, chapter 5 (or chapter 4b).  I hope it lives up to your expectations.

And please excuse my (possibly atrocious) French, I haven't had anything to do with the language for the past three years, and had to call on my rusty skills and English-to-French dictionary to do King Charmant's part.

Chapter 5 

Kingdom 3:  "Dinner with the royals"

A stray piece of steamed broccoli suddenly sailed across the length of the dinner table, landing solidly against Luke's forehead before slipping down his face, to fall into his lap.

"Oops.  Sorry," Terrence called out, an expression on his face that left little doubt that his "accident" was hardly that.  He was met with the scowling face of his second brother.

"Terry," David scolded with a pointed look, but the gesture was softened by the mirth dancing in his usually serious gray eyes.  And while Terrence had the decency to actually look contrite this time, he knew not to take his brother's disapproval too seriously.  Luke, apparently, had also noticed David's amusement for he now sent glares to both brothers, alternating from one to the other.  As usual, neither King Charmant nor Queen Rose noticed a thing, so engrossed were they in each other.

"Ma belle marie, you look more ravishing each time I lay eyes on you," Charmant told his wife, kissing the back of her hand gracefully.  The queen giggled, and all the royal children shared looks of disgust, except for little Rebecca, who was too engrossed in the task of stuffing peas up her nose to pay any heed.

The king sat at the head of the table, his wife just to his left so they could be near each other at all times.  At the other end of the table sat David, to his right, on the other side of Queen Rose, was Terrence, who always insisted on sitting next to his eldest brother, and to his left was Rebecca, close enough so he could watch over her.  Next to Rebecca, to his father's right, sat Luke, who preferred to be as far away from the watchful gaze of his older brother as possible.

"Becca, darling," Queen Rose said, finally noticing her daughter's actions.  "Peas do not belong up your nose.  Please take them out, right now."

David winced and closed his eyes, knowing what was coming next.  After seventeen-odd years as a parent, his mother had yet to learn a thing about children.  Rebecca promptly put one finger up to the empty nostril and blew hard, sending the peas flying into her mashed potatoes.  Luke and Terrence burst into laughter, Charmant rolled his eyes in annoyance, and Rose gasped in what could only be described as mild horror.

Finally, turning to her eldest, she asked, "David, honey, could you please do something about—that?"

Having already anticipated the request, David grabbed a napkin and turned to his sister, first cleaning her nose and then removing the tainted portion of the potatoes from her plate.  "From now on, the food goes only in your mouth, okay?" he said, looking into the serious blue eyes.

Rebecca nodded, "'Kay, Davey."

The queen smiled in relief.  "Oh, David, you are so good with them," she commended.

"Yes, David, you'll make an excellent mother one day," Luke snickered.

"Shut up, Lucy," Terrence interjected, quickly coming to David's defence.  "You're just mad because David's way better than you in every way."

"Luc, Terry," the king warned, "we are here to enjoy our dinner, we will have no arguing, comprendez-vous?"

"Tell David to get his knight in shining armor off my back," Luke muttered petulantly, to which Terrence responded by sticking out his tongue.

"Luc," his father said sternly.

Luke decided to let the matter drop.  He didn't want to risk truly angering his father and being sent to his room, and thus missing the fun he had plotted earlier.  That wouldn't do at all.  So he sat back quietly, pretending to return to his dinner, all the while avoiding David's gaze.

David watched his brother carefully, not having forgotten their earlier encounter in the kitchen.  So far dinner had proceeded rather smoothly, with only the usual antics but he knew Luke was up to something, just waiting to hatch the plan that was brewing in his head.  Now if he only knew what form it would take, maybe he could prevent him from doing too much damage.  There was a gleam in the Luke's eyes that he just didn't trust; he had seen it far too many times during the past fifteen years to dismiss its implications.  And why did Luke suddenly seem so interested in their father?

Luke watched intently as the king applied butter to the roll of bread in his hand, each second bringing him closer to his newest triumph.  Unconsciously, he leaned forward in his seat.  Just one more moment… somewhere in the back of his mind he noticed that his mouth had begun watering.

Something was happening, David knew for sure.  Luke was like a dog looking at a bone, though David just couldn't grasp why.  He looked toward his father, who was doing nothing unusual, only preparing to take a bite out of a roll of bread…  the bread!

Terrence observed both of his brothers, as one watched the other, and the other watched their father.  Something was going on, and his ten-year-old brain struggled hard to grasp what it was.  Suddenly, David's eyes widened in horror as some realization struck him, and it bothered Terrence deeply to see such an expression on his face.  It had to be Luke's fault.

Luke felt a smile stretching across his face as his father took a healthy-sized bite out of the roll.  Chew, chew, and—

The king was suddenly seized with a horrible coughing fit and he spat out the offending bite of bread, which due to his unfortunate aim, landed right in the middle of his wife's plate.  The queen let out a shocked cry while her husband continued to cough and wheeze, "Water!  Water!"

Regaining her senses, Rose grabbed a pitcher and filled the nearest empty glass, watching as her husband alternated between swallowing large mouthfuls, and gargling and spitting it out on the ground.

Getting up from his seat, David hissed, "Luke!"

"What?" Luke asked in what would have been an utterly innocent manner, if it weren't for his sputtering laughter.

"Luke!" Rose exclaimed.  "Did you have something to do with this?"  She pointed toward Charmant, who had finally managed to get himself under some semblance of control, but was still too busy chugging down glassfuls of water to say anything.

"Of course not," Luke replied, still giggling wildly.

"Then why are you laughing?" David countered.

Luke sighed, wiping away a single tear.  His laughter was finally fading, but that damnable grin was still there.  "Because, David," he said slowly, punctuating each syllable, "it was funny.  You do know what funny is, don't you?"

David felt a soft tug on his sleeve and looked down into Rebecca's worried eyes.  "What's wrong with daddy, Davey?"

"Nothing, Becca, he just ate something—bad," he replied reassuringly.  Rebecca scrunched up her nose and looked toward her father.  He seemed recovered, although anger was quickly seeping into his face.

"Luc," he fairly growled, "Va a ta chambre."

Uh-oh.  He was speaking only in French, which either meant he was flirting, or really angry.  Somehow Luke didn't think it was the former.  "Ah, come on, it was just a jo—"

"Maintenant!"  The tone brooked no room for argument.

"Fine," Luke declared in a huff, rising up from his seat and stalking out of the room.  Terrence and Rebecca huddled further into their seats, unnerved by the whole scene and the tension still palpable in the room.

Rose looked down at the table and sighed as realization hit her.  Half the silverware was gone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that evening the royal couple sat before a roaring fireplace, sipping on wine.  The rest of dinner had passed in an unusual silence, without even a peep from the two youngest.  David too had remained silent, but that was a less than remarkable occurrence.

"What are we going to do about that boy?" Rose sighed as she leaned into her husband's chest.

"Personally, I would like to take him over my knee and pull out de switch."

"Charmant!" Rose gasped.  "That is simply cruel.  Besides, he is fifteen years old; you can't start this sort of thing now.  It's far too late."

"Now he is too old, before he was too young…  All I know is that garçon grows more infuriating with each passing day," Charmant declared.

Rose let out another soft sigh.  "Well, Snow is having that ball next week, perhaps she or Ella could provide some insight then."

Charmant snorted in a manner most unlike his usual charming self.  "From what I have heard, they are having little more success with their own children."

"What happened to the good old days when princes rescued princesses, they got married and lived happily ever after?" Rose asked wistfully.

"I suppose not all are so lucky as us," her husband replied, kissing her deeply.

"Um, darling," she said, breaking away from his mouth after some time.

"Yes, ma chere?" Charmant asked, trailing kisses along her jaw.

"There's something I have to tell you."

"Oui?"  At her ear now, nibbling and teasing.

"I'm pregnant."

Sudden pause.

"Merde."

TBC  insert evil laughter

**A/N:**  Just on a side note, in case anyone was wondering about Charmant's reaction… I had that very response when I was once unfortunate enough to take a bite of something that had been too liberally dosed with garlic powder.  It causes immediate gagging.  I'm not kidding… don't ever try it, except maybe as an April Fool's joke.  No, wait, I didn't say that.  I am *not* a bad influence.

Translations ~ "ma belle marie" = my beautiful wife; "comprendez-vous" = do you understand; "va a ta chambre" = go to your room; "maintenant" = now; "oui" = yes; "merde" = ahem shit


	6. Hasty spells and lengthy waits

Okay, everyone, I'll try to update regularly, but I'm warning you right now that I've developed a horrible case of the flu and my thought processes have become severely jumbled and slowed.  So please don't get upset if I neglect it for a while (but I'll try not to). 

Before I start this chapter, let me just say a few things:

Ali:  Briar Rose is the original name the Grimm Bros. used for Sleeping Beauty.

Kirjava:  I hope you're beginning to see how these three families will be tied together (I'm getting there, I'm getting there).

Everyone else:  Thank you for all your reviews.  It's comforting to know that there are people out there who are interested in the story, and I'm not just doing writing it because it amuses me [although it does : )]

**Chapter 6**

Kingdom 1: "Hasty spells and lengthy waits"

Things had been rather tame since the last confrontation between the queen and her eldest daughter, tame but not quiet.  All about the castle, people prepared for the upcoming ball that was to be hosted by King Charmant and Queen Snow.  At the head of it all was her mother, directing and foreseeing, and sending things back to have them redone when they weren't completed to her satisfaction.  Already, her seamstresses had sewn over a dozen resplendent gowns fit for a queen—or rather, any queen but Queen Ella.

And now it was Lillith's turn.  She had begged off until the last moment, but with only a week to go, if the seamstress did not begin on her dress now, it would never be completed by the time of the ball.  Not that Lillith minded, though; in fact, it was her secret hope that this would be the case.

Lillith was not ignorant.  She knew she ate too much, she knew that she could stand to lose a few pounds, she knew that she was not living up to her mother's expectations.  But knowing and being able to do something about it were two completely separate things.  Her mother's criticisms were harsh, but in a way, her father could be worse.  Not in the way he'd been last time, that was a complete accident and he had certainly not meant what he's said.  No, it was when he was being the very opposite that it was worst.  When she was upset, he was the one who'd come to her with some sweet, hoping to cheer her out of her misery, just as he had done the other day.

He meant well, and that was what was important.  As opposed to her mother, whom Lillith doubted had any motivations but her own selfish ones in mind when she did the things that she did.  Well, at least she wasn't in Vivienne's shoes.

Speaking of shoes, she glanced down at the murderous apparel on her feet.  "Milda," she said, drawing the attention of the middle-aged seamstress busily applying a number of pins into the dress.  Milda raised her eyebrows in response since her mouth was currently filled with several more unused pins.  "There's no way I'm going to get through the whole ball in these things," she declared, indicating her shoes.  "They pinch my toes, the heel is far too large, and not to mention the sole is so slippery, it feels like I'm walking on ice!"

Milda pulled the pins from her lips and set them aside.  "Milady, I'm afraid you have no choice.  Your mother will be inspecting you down to the most minute detail… and you know how she feels about footwear."

Lillith rolled her eyes in exasperation.  "Yeah, I know… I think I've heard her mention something about glass slippers once or twice before."  She paused and wiggled her toes, just to make sure they were still there.  "But I'm going to look ridiculous.  I can't even walk in these things!"

Milda sighed as she glanced up.  She was in hearty agreement with Lillith's assessment, and virtually certain that the shoes would contribute to some horribly embarrassing happenstance for the girl.  Finally, she came upon a solution.

"Alright.  You can wear the shoes when your mother comes to check you over, but then change into something more sensible afterward.  I'll just make sure the dress is long enough to keep your feet adequately covered during the ball."

Lillith smiled, her warm brown eyes instantly lighting up.  "Thank you, Milda!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"No, no, no—more folds!" Queen Ella exclaimed, surveying her eldest daughter's gown, a deep hunter green that played well off her copper-colored hair.  "They should be thick and generous; I don't want it to look as if we barely managed to gather enough material to just make the thing!"

Vivienne, who was currently wearing said dress, sighed, and then yelped as she felt a sharp prick in her thigh.

"My apologies, milady," the terrified young seamstress, Anne, hastily responded, fumbling to remove the offending device.

Vivienne looked down at the other woman, noting how wide her eyes were, and how much her hands trembled.  She tried to give her a reassuring smile, but Anne was too busy looking downward, away from the queen's merciless gaze, to notice.

"Mother, it's fine," Vivienne protested, tired from the hours of posing and simply wanting it all to be over.

"Fine?  We do not want fine, Vivienne!  We want 'wonderful', 'magnificent', 'breathtaking'—anything but simply 'fine'," Ella declared in outrage.  "We want to make an unforgettable appearance, and dazzle Prince Valor."

"I'm not there to dazzle anyone, least of all Prince Valor," Vivienne snapped, rolling over her potential future husband's name sarcastically.  "I'm there to be myself, meet him, and see what kind of person he is.  Then, and only then, will I decide whether or not I'm willing to pursue this whole topic of marriage."

Her mother grit her teeth in frustration, but finally managed to respond with restrained calmness, "Yes, dear, but don't forget that Prince Valor too must decide whether or not to 'pursue this topic of marriage', and thus you must make a good first impression."

"Mother," Vivienne said, exasperatedly, "It's not as if he's the only prince around, so why are you so hung up on this?"

"He is the only _suitable_ one.  He's of the right age, he comes from a good family—"

"But most importantly, he's the sole son and thus heir to a very large and prosperous kingdom," Vivienne completed for her.  "Right?"

Her mother glared at her for a moment before responding.  "And so what if he is?" she asked.  "So what if that is the reason why I'm pursing this arrangement so heartily?  It's not as if his wealth will do _me_ any good; I'm doing this for _your_ benefit."

Anne glanced up from her work momentarily to watch mother and daughter as they faced off.  The tension in the room was palpable, and only getting thicker with each additional word spoken.

"For _my benefit_?" Vivienne repeated in disbelief.  "You're doing this for _my_ benefit?  You don't care anything about me or my benefit—you just want the prestige of having your daughter marry into a wealthy and powerful family, so you can try to overcome that whole 'poor girl' complex."

Ella glared at her daughter, resenting the mentioning of her past in a heated moment such as this.  "Whatever my heritage may be, at least I managed to make something of myself, and I don't think it's too much to expect the same of you."

"I am trying to make something of myself!" she retorted.  "But you decided to interfere with all your schemes—"

"Oh please, Vivienne," and she would have rolled her eyes in response but she was too much the proper queen to react in such a manner, so instead she simply crossed her arms over her chest and adopted a condescending tone.  "Magic?  I would hardly call that 'making something of yourself.'  What do you expect with your little parlor tricks?  You're no sorceress, no fairy godmother; your powers will amount to nothing."

Vivienne stared at her mother in outrage.  "My spells are not 'parlor tricks'!  And I thought we had an agreement: you consider the apprenticeship, and I consider the marriage!"

"I've considered it, and I haven't changed my mind," Ella informed her.

"Fine!  Then I've made my decision too!  And I guess I won't be needing this dress," she answered, making a strange gesture in the air with her hand.  And suddenly she was gone, an empty space where only the blink of an eye earlier she had stood, leaving the dress to fall delicately into a pool of green silk on the floor.

"Where did she go?" Ella asked, looking about the room.  But all she found was one unoccupied dress and an extremely terrified young seamstress.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lillith wandered contentedly through her family's elegant gardens, her orange tabby, Chester, resting lazily in her arms.  She had just been dismissed from her tailoring session for the rest of the day as she found, to her great relief, that the dress was almost complete, only the finer details that did not require her presence remaining.

She was quite surprised when she found her sister sitting silently on one of the ornate wooden benches that were sprinkled throughout the place, and in her underwear, no less.

"Um, Viv," Lillith spoke hesitantly, approaching her slowly.

"Hmm?" Vivienne replied without looking over, her arms folded protectively over her frame.  She appeared to be half lost in some sort of reverie.

"What are you doing out here?" Lillith asked as she sat down next to her, letting Chester hop out of her embrace.  "And why aren't you dressed?"

"I had a little… confrontation with mother during my fitting, and in the heat of the moment I performed a transportation spell," Vivienne replied, glancing down at the cat, who'd begun rubbing himself against her leg.

Lillith's eyebrows rose.  A transportation spell was pretty powerful; she had no idea Vivienne had reached that level already.  "And the garden…?"

"Oh, it was just the first thing that came to mind when I was doing the transportation, and it was close enough so—here I am."  She shrugged as she looked toward her sister.

"How long ago was this?"

Vivienne's attention focused once again on Chester, her face coloring slightly.  "An hour ago."

"An hour?!" Lillith exclaimed.  "Why are you still here?"

Her sister's face reddened further.  "Well, um, I kind of used up my magic, temporarily, on the transportation spell…" she trailed off.

"And you couldn't transfer yourself back," Lillith finished.  Well, that certainly made sense since Vivienne was not a trained sorceress and should not have possessed the ability to use the spell effortlessly.  Then despite herself, she began to laugh.

"It's not funny!" Vivienne declared indignantly.

"Yes… it… is," Lillith insisted, her laughter so overwhelming now that she just barely squeezed the words out.  Her eyes began to tear and she gasped for breath.  "And now you're stuck out here, in your underwear!"

Vivienne scowled in response, trying to remain poised, but soon she too began to laugh.  It really was ridiculous, and now that she no longer had to wait out in the cold, she supposed there was no harm in admitting the humor of the situation.  Chester, meanwhile, gazed at the two as if they'd gone crazy.  Now affronted by the fact that neither seemed to be paying him any attention, he stalked off a short distance to a more comfortable grassy area, where he sat down and immediately began licking himself.

"How were you planning on getting back in?" Lillith finally asked after they had both regained their composure.

"Well, I figured I'd wait until it was dark, and then hopefully sneak in without anyone seeing me."

The younger princess frowned.  "Sneak in during the night?  Do you really have so little confidence in the sentries?"

Vivienne looked at her incredulously.  "Have you actually ever stopped to watch those bumbling fools?  If they were any less aware of what was going on around them, they'd be asleep!"

Lillith paused to consider this.  "Well, maybe a half-naked princess wandering through the castle in the middle of the night would be enough to put them at attention," Lillith said, grinning wickedly. and Vivienne laughed along.  Then, more soberly, Lillith continued, "I guess it's a good thing we don't actually need guards to protect us, or else we would be in trouble."

"Hmm," Vivienne agreed, "At least we have that going for us."  Then she stood up, pulling her sister from her seat as well.  "Now, get your butt in there and find me something to wear—I really wouldn't want to disturb naptime."

Lillith laughed, and before she turned to call Chester.  The tabby momentarily glanced up and gave her a look that seemed to say, "Can't you see I've found something more interesting to do?" before he resumed his previous activity.

Till next time!


	7. Man versus Beast

**A/N:** After a lengthy wait, here's another chapter.  And I'm dedicatin' this one to Xaviera, who's quite possibly the only one reading it!

Chapter 7 

**Kingdom 2:  "Man Versus Beast"**

Unlike many of the young people of his generation, Valor had no problem with his life.  Being a prince was great, especially since he was realistically the only one in line for the throne.  Being the eldest, this was already pretty much guaranteed, but since he was also the only son borne to his parents, he had no worry of being overthrown by scheming, underhanded younger brothers.

Yes, true, Virtue was more like a brother to him than a sister, but still he was unconcerned.  She had never expressed any interest in ruling a kingdom, and instead her fantasies revolved around adventuring and becoming a knight.

And sure, he was now apparently marrying someone didn't even know, had only met on a couple of occasions, and couldn't remember, but even that wasn't much of a setback.  After all, marriage had done nothing to temper his father's lifestyle.  So, understandably, Prince Valor had a fairly positive outlook on life.

Usually, Valor was a pretty easy-going guy.  He rarely got angry, and never to the point where he became violent.  Not that that was entirely testimonial to his disposition, since there were few individuals who would dare anger the crown prince to such an extent.

But of course, there always exceptions to the general rule, namely his sister.  In temperament, she was his exact opposite, quick to take offence, one to throw the first punch, and hopelessly impulsive.  The last of the three was responsible for the onset of Valor's current, uncharacteristically foul mood, but the other two certainly did nothing to improve the situation.

He had decided to enjoy the pleasant afternoon by taking a ride.  There was no particular motivation behind his decision, it just seemed like a princely thing to do.  Unfortunately, Valor was not very good with horses, for a prince or otherwise.  For that reason, he tended to stay away from them, and had never fully developed his riding skills.  It was a fact that embarrassed him greatly and one that he tried to keep to himself, though, inevitably, Virtue had discovered the truth.

The majority of the world, however, remained blissfully ignorant.  It was not often that he was even required to call upon that skill, since he spent most of his time at the castle or in one of the local taverns, which were only a few minutes' ride away.  That, he could handle.  It was only when he was required to travel at any speed above a brisk trot that all hell broke loose.

When Virtue had discovered his secret, she had, as anticipated, teased him mercilessly about it.  However, she soon stopped when she realized just how much Valor's failure bothered him.  She'd even offered to help him improve his skills, but he'd declined the offer since patience was not one of his sister's attributes, and he doubted that lessons would very healthy for their relationship.  Still, she remained sensitive to the issue and considerate with regard to his shortcoming.

That is, until today.

It was a good way into his ride and he'd come quite a distance from the castle—though not as much as would have anyone else—when his attention was drawn to a loud rustling from the nearby trees.  His horse, Cautious, had heard it too for he felt the animal tense beneath him.

Oh no, Valor thought to himself, not so bothered by the noise as he was by his horse's reaction to it.  "Easy, boy, nothing to worry yourself about," he murmured, giving Cautious what he hoped was a comforting pat.

Just after the words had left his mouth, the source of the rustling came bursting into the clearing, a war cry on her lips.  The noise, combined with the image of the fierce black stallion and its rider bearing down on them, was enough to cause Cautious to rear up on his back legs, throwing Valor off to land, conveniently, in a large puddle of mud.  Immediately after doing so, the horse bolted.

Valor let out a frustrated cry upon seeing whom the source of commotion was.  "Vir!"

"Oops, sorry Val," Virtue replied as she jumped down off her horse.  "I didn't realize anyone else was out here."  She casually eyed here brother, who was still sprawled in the mud.  "Demon and I thought we'd let loose," she continued, patting the horse on the head.

Valor glared at the massive horse, who seemed to be peering down at him haughtily, and then at his sister.  She wore breeches, and a tunic, with her long hair tied back out of her face and despite the fact that she had been galloping through a dense forest, she looked no worse for the wear.  "What the hell were you doing riding in the woods?"

"It's more challenging," she answered.  She glanced around the clearing in which they stood—or in Valor's case, sat—"An open field is so… beginner."

Valor sent another glare at his sister, taking offence at the last comment, despite the fact that he couldn't deny the truth of it.  Slowly and carefully, he picked himself up off the ground.  On the bright side, nothing appeared to be broken; on the not-so-bright side—

"You look like you've been rolling around in a pig pen."

Valor stared down at his ruined clothes.  The damage seemed to be localized at his backside and his legs, just below the knees.  Well, if he returned to the castle like this, he could always give anyone who saw him some elaborate tale.  A tale of the classic struggle between man and wild beast, that ended with the beast barely escaping with his life, and only because the man was unarmed but for his wits and his courage…  Yes, that would do well, and the whole incident could actually end up being beneficial to him, just so long as Virtue kept the truth to herself.

Satisfied with his solution, Valor glanced around.  "Where's that damn horse?" he asked.

"Ran off," Virtue replied laconically.

"Yes, I can see that," Valor gave her a look.  "Did you see which direction it ran off in?"

"_He_ ran off that way," she said, pointing in the direction with her thumb.

"How the hell am I supposed to find i—him?" he muttered glancing in that direction.

Virtue grinned and leapt up onto Demon's back—no small feat for someone of her slight stature.  "I could help you find 'em," she offered.

Valor eyed the pair skeptically.  "Don't you think you'll just scare him off again when he sees you two coming?"

Virtue considered this thoughtfully, her nose scrunched up in a very unprincess-like manner that would have earned her an instant reprimand from their mother.  "Yeah, I suppose.  He does of kind of live up to his name, doesn't he?"  She pondered the situation further.  "Well, he wouldn't run away if he saw _you_, would he?"

"How am I supposed to know what that stupid horse will do?" Valor replied, rolling his eyes.

"And yet you wonder why they don't seem to like you?"  Then, with a slight inclination of her head, she said, "Well, come on."

"Where?" Valor replied eyes narrowing as he had an idea of what she was going to suggest.

His sister sighed.  "To find your 'damn' horse, as you so eloquently put it.  I'll take you to him on Demon, but before he sees us, you get off and walk calmly up to him, and then bring yourselves home."

Valor looked at her skeptically before gracing her with "Are you insane?  You want me to get up on that—thing?"  The horse, seeming to understand his words, or at least their nature, let out a snort to convey his offence.

Virtue crossed her arms over her chest in a manner that indicated her impatience.  "Don't be such a baby, Val.  _I'm_ going to be the one riding him… you just have to sit and not try to scream or fall off."

"Hey," Valor protested feeling his own irritation rise.  "That screaming thing only happened once, long ago, and I thought we'd agreed to never bring it up again.  As for the falling off, that was thanks to you and your hell beast here."

"For your information," Virtue replied, her infamous temper beginning to show, "The screaming happened _twice_; _I_ never agreed to anything; and the falling thing would never have happened if you and that oversized mule you call a horse possessed at least one iota of skill and discipline between the two of you."

Valor had found that there weren't many things in this world that could get him angry.  Being mocked, however, was simply something he had never had an opportunity to get used to, even if his sister had a tendency not to hold back on such things.  So, of course, he couldn't let the insult simply pass by.  "Let me refresh your memory," he hissed between clenched teeth.  "It doesn't count as twice if it happened on the same occasion; my horse is not a mule of any size; and we had an _implicit_ agreement that you would never again mock my riding abilities!"

"You know, I was offering to go out of my way to help you find that horse of yours, but since it appears that my efforts aren't appreciated, I guess I'll just go home and leave you to do it on your own."

"Yeah, why don't you do that?  I don't need your help."  Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Even if it_ was_ your fault in the first place."

Virtue had just turned her horse in the direction of the castle and begun her journey back, but she couldn't resist pausing to throw back at it him, "It was not my fault!"  Then, with an abrupt movement, she urged Demon into a gallop, and soon enough the two were beyond Valor's scope of vision.

Valor glanced about the field, his anger quickly giving way to concern as he realized just how difficult his task was going to be.  Running a hand through his hair, he asked aloud, "Now, what direction did she point to?"

**********************

Valor didn't know how much time had passed since he'd begun his search, but his feet screamed that it had been too long.  He was just about to give up and begin the humiliating walk back home when a nearby whinnying caught his attention.  He abruptly turned and saw Cautious standing not ten meters away, watching his master.

"How long have you been following me?" he declared before realizing that he was talking to a horse that was not about to answer back, and decided to pretend it had never happened.  Instead, he began to walk towards the animal in quick, determined steps.  However, as he reached out for the reigns, Cautious danced back just out of reach.

"Get back here, you stupid animal."

While Cautious, unlike Demon, did not appear to understand the words, he certainly wasn't soothed by the tone of his master's voice.  Each time Valor attempted to grab the reigns, the horse would pull just of reach, until it became a sort of game between the pair.  Eventually, his frustration reaching a peak, Valor threw all care aside and leapt at the animal.

Cautious reared back at the abrupt movement, causing Valor to fall forward, directly into yet another mud puddle.  Vaguely Valor wondered where all the mud puddles had come from since it hadn't rained at all in the past several days.  But all such concerns were pushed aside as he landed face first in the grime.  Well, so much for minimal damage.

Sitting up, he calmly wiped away the bulk of the mud on his face, allowing him to restore his vision, and then spat out the amount that had wound up on his mouth.  He turned his head to face Cautious, who had settled down to watch his fallen master, and fixed the horse with a single stare.

**********************

A stable-hand was the first to see the pair as they arrived back at the castle, a single filthy man on foot leading a very contrite-looking horse in determined, yet unhurried steps.  It took a moment for the hand to recognize the mud-covered figure as the prince.

"My prince!" he exclaimed, running forth to grab the reigns from Valor.  "Were you attacked?  What happened?"

Valor sighed and began his tale, wincing inwardly as the dried mud on his face cracked with each movement, "It was a classic struggle between man and wild beast…"

"And?" the hand prompted, the bewildered look still on his face.

"And the beast won."

TBC

If you want more, please review!  Or else I'll think you don't love me anymore.


	8. Tall, dark and mudcovered

**A/N:**  Bryn ~ The original Sleeping Beauty, a.k.a. the Grimm brothers' version (as I've already stated) was named Briar Rose.  In fact, the story is sometimes even entitled "Little Briar Rose".  As for her prince, he is merely referred to as "the youth", "the prince" or "the king's son".  The names you are referring to, which are used in the Disney version, may have come from other representations, but I choose to stick to the Bros. Grimm version.

Alright, I know this chapter is kind of choppy, jumping from one POV to another pretty quickly.  I just didn't want to waste time on too much detail… I want to get to the plot already!  Yes, there _is_ a plot, and it's just waiting for its cue.

Chapter 8 

Intersections:  "Tall, dark… and mud-covered"

The long ride from Ella's own kingdom to that of her good friend Snow's had been made only more so by the fact that her eldest daughter refused to speak to her.  The carriage was large and lavish, as far as carriages go, but today it seemed the equivalent of a broom closet as both mother and daughter attempted to avoid each other.  It was a difficult, though not impossible, thing to do.  Of course, there was no helping the physical proximity, but they more than made up for that through the cold indifference, the pointedly averted gazes, and the refusal to utter a single word to each other.

In fact, the only one who had spoken throughout the entire trip was Lillith.  The king, who had never before been a great admirer of physical activity, suddenly professed an overwhelming desire to make the journey on horseback.  Ella knew her husband simply didn't want to be caught in the middle of the standoff between her and Vivienne, and his response did not surprise her.  There were a great many words she might use to describe Charming, but brave was not one of them.

Lillith, however, had had no choice in the matter, for it would have been unthinkable for a princess to travel by any other method.  Ella glanced toward her younger daughter, who had long since given up trying to draw either of the other two women into conversation.  Currently, she was slumped in her seat, staring out the uncovered window, an expression of intense boredom on her face.

Reflexively, Ella shot out, "Sit up straight, Lillith."  Damn, she wasn't supposed to be talking.

Surprised to hear another human voice after four endless hours of silence, Lillith immediately complied.

Ella stole a glance at her other daughter and could detect the faintest shadow of a triumphant grin on Vivienne's face.  Damn!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As far as Vivienne was concerned, little victories were victories nonetheless.  When the carriage finally rolled to a stop in what she could only presume to be the kingdom of the man her mother wanted her to marry, she let out a mental sigh of relief.  Though outwardly she had carried the appearance of complete apathy, the past few hours had almost been enough to drive her out of her mind.  The unbearable silence, the utter boredom!  She had been greatly disappointed when Lillith had finally ceased her futile attempts at conversation.  Even the sound of her sister's solitary voice had been a comforting presence.

When the carriage stopped and it was clear they had reached their final destination, Lillith was the first one out the door, bounding out at a speed that Vivienne had hereto thought her incapable of.  Her body stiff from the lack of activity, she moved to exit the coach, watching her mother to make sure they weren't aiming to make their departures at the same time.

Two sets of brown eyes, both containing the identical stubborn light, met for a brief yet hostile moment.  Then abruptly Vivienne turned and followed the path that her sister had taken.  Head raised high, nose slightly upturned in a haughty manner, it was shocking how much she resembled her mother in that instance.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The meeting with their royal hosts had been boring and oh-so-predictable from Lillith's point of view.  And judging from the expression on her sister's face, which would have been indiscernible to anyone but her, Vivienne felt the same way.

Queen Snow was exactly as the stories described her:  black hair, pale skin, red lips… an image of beauty even after all these years.  Her husband, Charming, though he shared Lillith's father's name, was nothing like the other king.  Brown hair and dancing blue eyes that revealed an essence of youth she had thought impossible in someone of his age, he actually appeared to be a rather interesting person.  However, his true nature had been somewhat toned down, obviously in accordance to the "proper" behavior that was expected of the hosting king.

Currently, Queen Snow was speaking to her own parents.  Her tone apologetic, though laced with slight exasperation, she said, "I don't know where those two went.  They left this morning to go riding…  I suppose they must have lost track of time, or perhaps they didn't realize when you would be arriving."

"Oh, it's quite alright, Snow," Ella replied pleasantly.  "We all understand how children can be.  They do have that certain tendency to do simply as they please."  All was said in that same sweet tone, not even turning to acknowledge the real subject of her comment.

Lillith watched her sister respond with a simple rolling of the eyes, although she was facing away from the two royal couples so that her action would go unnoticed.

"Ah yes, well hopefully they should be returning—" Snow's remark was cut off as a petite girl, little older than Lillith herself, entered the room with hurried steps.  Her brown hair was a little wild and windblown, her cheeks slightly reddened from exertion, and she had the same dancing blue eyes as the king.  Though she wore a dress befitting a princess, it was clear from her movements that she was someone unused to such clothes.

"Virtue!" Snow exclaimed.

Inwardly, Lillith winced in sympathy for the latecomer.  There was a name that could not have made life an easier.

"Where's your brother?" the king asked.

Virtue looked toward her parents, in her face a hint of humor that she couldn't seem to conceal.  "Still out riding, I suppose.  I ran into him once, just before I headed back.  Last I saw, he was going the other way."

"The other way?" her mother frowned.  "Didn't he realize that our guests would be arriving today?"

Indeed, there was laughter barely contained within those eyes as they glanced away from her parents and connected with Lillith's.  "I don't know, but he appeared to have other concerns at the time."

Lillith found herself taking an instant liking to this girl, sure that she had found yet another person who failed to conform to the notions that her own mother and the rest of the world held about what a princess should be.  With Vivienne's time claimed by the would-be suitor, Lillith had feared that she would be left entirely to herself, especially when it came time for the ball.

Well, if nothing else, she might now have a companion in her suffering.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

With the initial pleasantries aside, and still no sign of the mysterious Prince Valor, Vivienne was finally free to leave the company of her insufferable mother and the other three royals.  Virtue had offered to give both sisters a tour of the castle, but Vivienne had begged off, opting instead for a bath to refresh her from her trip.  It wasn't so much true that she desire one, but that she had wanted some time alone and the bath was the only way she could felt she could achieve that without appearing rude.

She didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with the other princess since Virtue seemed like a genuinely nice person.  Not at all like the phoney princesses she had met throughout her life, all those princesses that her mother wished she could be more like.

So she had been shown to her room, provided with her bath, and left to her own devices.  Eventually, of course, the bath had to end, and finding little else to do within the confines of the bedchamber, she found herself wandering aimlessly through the castle halls.  After maybe a half hour of such wandering, she decided to admit to herself that she was lost.  It didn't really bother her, and she knew that at some point someone would chance upon her and she could be led out of the maze of corridors.  Until then, she was content to roam.

She knew it was kind of silly that she could get lost in one castle when she had spent her whole life in another, especially when neither differed much in terms of size or style.  But each castle had its own structure, and the maze was something to be conquered through time, if nothing else.  Even after eighteen years, there were parts of her own home that could confuse her, especially if she were to face them at night.  Not enough to conquer her completely, but enough to disorient and delay.

But essentially, all castles were the same, and there was nothing about this one that impressed her any more than her own.  Soon she found herself becoming bored with her endless roving, and wondered whether she shouldn't just swallow her pride and call out for help.

Before she could make a decision, however, her thoughts were cut off by a dark figure that came storming around the corner, almost slamming right into her.  They both stopped abruptly, just barely preventing the impact.

Her words, which were automatically forming into an apology though she had nothing to apologize for, were cut short when she glanced up into the face ahead of her.  Her eyes widened slightly, taking in the sight.

A tall male figure with hair that could possibly be black beneath the cake of mud, and eyes an incredibly light brown that contrasted sharply against the same dark substance that covered most of his face.  And his arms, and his legs, and pretty much all of his body.  He seemed rather young, but she could have been mistaken—the mud obscured most details.

A deep voice sharpened by irritation, bit out, "Watch where you're going."

Vivienne's face conveyed astonishment then hardened in anger.  "Me watch where _I'm _going?  What about you?  You're the one who came careening around the corner, you should watch where _you're_ going!"

Brown eyes glared back at her unrepentantly.  He crossed his arms over his chest, obviously unaware of how unimpressive the gesture appeared when he was covered head to toe in mud.  "What do you want, an apology?"

She hadn't initially, but now as she stared back at the insolent figure before her, Vivienne decided that the prospect of one suddenly seemed quite appealing.  "Yes, that would be nice," she replied, hands on her hips.

"Well, you better pull up a chair because you're going to have a long wait," he said with a slight smirk.

The princess part of Vivienne's brain, one that she wasn't even consciously aware existed, kicked into action.  Who did this jackass think he was?  She was a guest of the royal family, and possibly the future queen of this kingdom (wait, no, scratch that last part—there was no way she was agreeing to marry Prince Valor, not over her mother's dead body).  Indignant, she shot back, "Listen here, you filthy mongrel, why don't you go back to whatever puddle you were rolling around in so that I can continue on my way and pretend that this never happened?"

A returning anger sparked in the brown eyes, but before he could reply, two new participants joined them in the suddenly lively hallway.

Lillith stared in bewilderment at the scene before her, taking in the vision of mud and ruined clothing that seemed locked in a heated argument with her sister.  Virtue's face held a comprehension that should not have been there, as well as a great deal of amusement.

"Vivienne, Val, so you guys already met!"

TBC

**A/N:**  It's that dreaded time of the semester again:  FINALS!  What does that mean for you?  Well, don't expect another chapter of FTNG for the next 2-3 weeks.  I'll be too busy cramming and coping with anxiety attacks to do much of anything else.


	9. The prince and the knight?

**A/N:**  I'm only halfway through finals, but the monotony of studying was driving me insane!  So, I took a break and ground out another chapter.

It's gonna get a little confusing when the two "Charmings" are in the same room, so I'm going to have to employ the oh-so-clever devise of calling Ella's husband Charming1, and Snow's husband Charming2 from now on.

Chapter 9 

Intersections:  "The prince and the… knight?"

David still couldn't understand what he was doing here.  When his mother had first informed him that the entire family would be making the trip to her good friend Queen Snow's kingdom in order to attend a royal ball, he had balked at the idea.

"If you need a babysitter, I can do that just as well here."

Queen Rose had replied in the same manner in which she dealt with all things unpleasant: a soft sigh of exasperation, and a pleading look in those soft blue eyes that she shared with her two youngest children.  "David, we don't think of you as merely a 'babysitter'," she said, taking one of his hands into her own.  "We want you at the ball… this is the type of thing you should have experience with for when you are king."  Rose carried on, blissfully unaware of the subtle way in which her son cringed when she mentioned that last part, "Besides, it's good to get away from the castle every once in a while.  Why, I don't think we've had a family outing since before Terry was born!"

So it was decided, in that utterly parental way in which such decisions are made without any concern to the children's wishes, that they would all be attending the upcoming ball.  And somehow it had resulted in him scavenging the grounds of the unfamiliar courtyard of an unfamiliar kingdom, searching for one misplace blond sprite.  "Becca?" he called out in that if-you-come-out-right-now-I-promise-not-to-get-angry tone that all parents, older siblings and babysitters have adopted at one point in their lives or another.  "Becca, where are you?"

Yes, the asking—and answering—of such questions was not permitted in the rules of hide-and-seek, the game in which now found himself an unwitting participant, but he continued in hopes that his sister might decide to take it upon herself to set him straight.  And by verbally refusing to answer his question, she would thus reveal her location.  Not a very complex plan, David acknowledged, but hell, Rebecca was only five years old.  How hard could it possibly be to outsmart her?

When the carriage had finally come to a stop at their destination, all four of the royal children had eagerly exited the cramped surroundings to which they'd been confined for the past several hours.  Rebecca and Terrence's exuberance over their arrival had been expected, since it is a well-known fact that young children can never stand to remain in any one place for long periods of time.  And naturally, as was also expected, the moment David turned his back on one so he could keep the other from running off, the first one disappeared.  This time, that "first one" happened to be his sister.

So while his parents and his brothers went into the castle to greet the royal hosts, David was left with the task of relocating his youngest sibling.  It was a task that would have usually annoyed him to no end, but this time he found that it did not bother him all that much.  When the alternative was being introduced to a bunch of stuffy royals and then having to make idle chitchat, he would gladly entertain his little sister in her childish games.

Or so he had believed for the first half hour.  When the second half rolled upon them, and still there was no sign of his target, he found that the alternative was becoming increasingly appealing.  He wasn't too worried about Rebecca, knowing that there was little possibility that she might get past the guarded gates that encompassed the kingdom grounds, and most likely she had merely found an excellent hiding location and fallen asleep.  It wouldn't be the first time.

He was a little surprised when he suddenly heard a high-pitched voice calling out, "Daaaveeey."  Following the sounds, he soon found himself facing the ever-elusive object of his search.

Rebecca stood before him, nonchalantly bearing a colorful array of flowers, with an equally colorful wreath adorning her blond hair.

"What are you doing?" David asked confused as to why she had given herself away.

She scrunched up her nose to convey her own perplexity.  "I forgot.  Was I supposed to be hiding or finding?"  But before he could answer, she continued on in a single breath, "'Cause I thought I was supposed to be hiding, but then you didn't come to find me so I thought maybe you was supposed to be hiding and I was supposed to be finding you."

"And what's with the flowers?"

"I got bored waiting so I picked them."  Rebecca graced him with an enthusiastic smile.  "Aren't they pretty?"

David crouched down before her, giving her a returning smile and replied, "Yes they are."

"Good, 'cause I picked some for you too."  She pulled apart a handful of flowers that David could not have named even if his life depended upon it, and could only acknowledge to say that they were a lovely shade of blue.  "See, to go with your eyes."

He looked at the proffered bouquet uncertainly.  "Uh, Becca, you do know that my eyes are gray, don't you?"

"Course I know, silly," she replied with an indulgent smile that showed just how ridiculous his question was.  "They're not the _same_ color of your eyes, they just _go_ with them.  Blue and gray… they look nice together."  Well, when you put it that way… David still didn't understand, but he wasn't going tell her that.  "Here," she said, thrusting the blue flowers toward him.

"Uh, thanks."  He took the bouquet and held it awkwardly for a few moments, unsure of what she expected him to do with it.

"Not like that."  She snatched the flowers away, carefully placing her own set down on the ground.  "Like this," she said, and began adorning his light brown hair, just as she had done with her own.  When she was done, she leaned back and appraised her handiwork with a triumphant grin.  "'Kay, all done."

Taking her word for it since there were no mirrors handy for him to examine his own appearance, he stood and pulled her tiny hand into his much larger one.  "So are we ready to go in now?"

"Yep."

They began the walk to the castle, but were met partway there by Terrence, who collided into his brother's chest before he could drop out of his run.  David let out a mental groan.  These two were always colliding, falling, and stepping on or into him and he had the bruises to show it.  "Dave, where've you been?" Terrence exclaimed, out of breath and cheeks flushed.  "Are you wearing flowers in your hair?"

"Uh, yeah," David replied, suddenly self-conscious of the adornments that had been so lovingly set there by his sister.  "Terry, can you do me a favor?"  The younger boy nodded enthusiastically, always eager to please David in any way possible.  "Could you take Becca in while I… take care of something?"

"Sure, Dave," Terry replied, taking his sister by the hand.  "C'mon, Bec, let's go."  Becca followed him obediently, exhibiting one of her rare moods of compliance, and David waited until several moments had passed since they'd left his range of vision before he used both hands to brush the mess out of his hair.  He hadn't had the heart to do in front of his sister but there was no way he was going to let anyone else—especially Luke—see him like that.

He was just about to follow that path they had taken when he heard the unmistakable clang of metal behind him.  Curious, he turned to see a small frame in clearly oversized armor making its way through the courtyard just parallel to him.  Wow, this kingdom must be really desperate for knights if they're letting in such small ones, he thought as he watched the new arrival.

The figure turned toward him, as if suddenly conscious of his scrutiny, and came to an abrupt halt.  One hand resting on the nonexistent hip of the armor (where hips would have been if there was no armor), head cocked slightly to one side despite the awkward movements of the helmet, a surprisingly high-pitched voice inquired, "Can I help you with something?"

David continued to stare.  Were they letting in prepubescent boys now too, or…  Before he could finish the thought, the helmet was flipped back to reveal a decidedly female face.  "Well?" the girl inquired.

Taken aback by the discovery, for a moment all he could do was gape.  Finally, he replied, "You're a girl."

Dark blue eyes watched him as a sardonic smile formed on her lips.  "And you're a boy."

"I mean," David cleared his throat, realizing how stupid his remark must have sounded.  "You're a girl wearing armor."

"And you're a boy wearing a flower in his hair," she answered back, unfazed by his reaction.

"What?"  Flushing slightly, he raised one hand and thoroughly brushed hair, not satisfied until he saw the aforementioned flower fall from its previous resting place.

The girl studied the blue-petalled plant lying on the stone cobbles.  "And one from my mother's garden, no less."

"Your mother's…?  Um, my, ah, sister put it there…." David managed to mumble in explanation before realization dawned on his face.  "Oh, you must be Princess Virtue then."

The girl grimaced in response to his remark.  "Vir," she corrected.  "Don't call me… _that_."  She paused, taking in the grin that had formed on his lips at her words.  "And who are you?"

"David," he answered, a little less unbalanced as the initial shock wore off.  Not that he necessarily opposed the whole female knight thing—he had just never heard of it, which accounted for his less than articulate response.

Virtue nodded, the name obviously familiar to her.  "Well, David, have you met everyone else yet?"

He gave her a grin and a shake of his head.  "No, I was just on my way to do that."  Then he held out his arm in a gallant gesture, "Shall we?"

With an answering smile of her own, Virtue took the proffered arm with her own armor-clad one and they entered the castle together.

TBC


	10. Another match made in heaven

**A/N:**  Sorry about the delay on this one… and thanks to everyone for their reviews.  As long as I have reviewers, I will keep writing :-)  On another note, I just found out that "Vir" is Latin for "man."  Made me laugh and I thought I'd share.

**Chapter 10**

Intersections: "Another match made in heaven" 

Luke glanced about the room with idle eyes, twiddling his thumbs in a perfect caricature of boredom.  Next to him sat Prince Valor, seemingly partaking in his ennui, when he wasn't busy trading daggered looks with the copper-haired girl seated across from him.  Princess Vivienne was her name and Luke had heard something about a potential marriage arrangement between the two.  Right now, the would-be couple didn't appear to be the on the best of terms.

The other occupants of the room, the remaining members of the three royal families that were currently staying at the castle, were seated in various positions throughout.  The crowned couples had congregated to one side of the room, apparently embroiled in a stimulating discussion of regional politics, taxes, and potential military conflicts.  Bor-ing, Luke thought with a roll of his eyes.

However, in his opinion, the other side of the room wasn't much better.  David was immersed in conversation with the wannabe knight, Virtue (a name that amused Luke to no end), accompanied by his second shadow, Terrence, and the quiet Princess Lillith.  Every so often though, David would pause in his banter and shoot a not-quite-suspicious-but-less-than-trustworthy gaze towards Luke, as if he didn't quite believe his brother could remain a full five minutes without creating some sort of havoc.  Which was generally true—but it just so happened that this time Luke was remaining fairly well behaved.  Oh, he would have jumped at the chance to create some mischief and liven up the gathering, but as luck would have it, no opportunities had yet presented themselves.

Ah well… he continued his survey of the room.  Rebecca had apparently found an audience in the aforementioned Vivienne, though Luke couldn't decide whether the princess was really as interested in his little sister's conversations as she appeared, or was merely using the distraction to avoid interacting with her less-than-amicable suitor.

"Valor," Queen Snow suddenly broke in on her son's half-hearted brooding.  "Why don't you and Virtue give the others a tour of the castle?"

Suddenly Luke's mind sprang to full attention.  A guided tour of the castle would be the perfect way to scope out the place—and it had to be more interesting than what he was doing now.  Just barely restraining himself from jumping enthusiastically from his seat, he eagerly awaited the pair's response.

Brother and sister shared a glance before Valor gave an indifferent shrug and pulled his tall frame up from his chair.  "This way," he declared with an eloquent gesture that could only be produced by those of noble birth—and their years of training in such pointless activities.

Virtue was the first to follow, then Luke, and finally the rest.  As the eight piled out of the room, all in their various clusters, no one bothered to glance back at the parents who watched them go.  For if they had, they might have noticed the conspiratorial looks they shared.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"And this is the banquet hall," Valor informed them, gesturing towards the large room, his tone revealing just how unimpressed he was with his new role as tour guide.  Though he conducted their little excursion at an unhurried pace, he provided little elaboration or explanations of the sights they were visiting.

"And this is one of the wine cellars," he said as they walked past a closed door.  "I'm sure you've all seen the inside of a cellar, so we won't bother with that," he continued as he stifled a yawn.

"Jeez Val, you could put a little effort into it," Virtue interjected with a roll of her eyes.  It was clear that Valor's attitude was beginning to rub off on the group, and some of them looked as if they might have more fun if they were asleep.

"Hey, if you think you can do a better job, be my guest," her brother replied nonchalantly, not minding the possibility of losing the position.

Virtue gave a toss of her head and marched up to the front of the group in an overly dramatic fashion, while the others watched her with a small degree of amusement.  "You're challenge is accepted," she declared in a mock-haughty voice.  She gave a lengthy pause before she began with a clearing of her throat and a grand gesture as if she were presenting the treasures of the kingdom, "This, as my brother Valor stated, is one of the wine cellars—"

"How many are there?" Terrence asked, interrupting her in mid-sentence.  Up until now, the tour had been pretty quiet with only the occasional comments such as "Watch your step" or "Becca, don't put that in your mouth."

"Eight," Valor answered for her.  He stood off to the side, slouched against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Eight?" Vivienne asked as she glanced towards him, eyes widening slightly.  "Why so many?"

"We go through a lot of alcohol around here," Virtue grinned as she made a slight drinking motion.  "Mom says there's basically a cellar for each of the dwarves, and one for dad.  But if that's true, then we'll have to add a ninth one for Val here."

Valor shot his sister an annoyed look before deciding either that she was speaking the truth, or that he really wasn't concerned about appearances.  So he chose not to say anything.  However, as he shifted his gaze, he found himself confronted by Vivienne's accusatory glare.  He returned her look with one of his own, which seemed to say, "Hey, we're not married yet."

Vivienne reciprocated with one that read, "And we never will be, you lush."  They continued this exchange for a while, both amazingly expressive despite the fact that neither had spoken a word.

Lillith, who had dropped to her sister's side, suddenly leaned over and whispered in Vivienne's ear, "Annoying though he may be at times, you have to admit he's pretty cute."

Vivienne's head whipped around so she was facing Lillith, and they were both lucky that Lillith reacted fast enough in pulling back her head, or else they would have experienced a mutually painful collision.  "Yeah, if you really think so, then _you _can marry him," she returned in a harsh whisper.

The younger sister let out an exaggerated soft sigh.  "If only…"

Despite her annoyance, Vivienne couldn't help but smile in response.  "You know, you can be awful cheeky when I'm the only one who can hear you."

"Cheekiness is always rewarded in kind," Lillith replied.

Their conversation was interrupted when Vivienne suddenly felt a light tug on her hand and she looked down at Rebecca.  "Who are the dwarves?" the little blond inquired.

"Oh… sweetie, have you ever heard the story of Snow White?" Vivienne asked.

Rebecca wrinkled her nose as she thought valiantly about the answer.  "Um… maybe?"

"Sure you have, Becca," David said, stepping in.  "Remember the bedtime story I read you just last week?"

"Oh yeah," Rebecca exclaimed, realization dawning on her face.

"You read her bedtime stories?" Lillith asked with a smile.  "That's so sweet."

A derisive snort was heard emitted by Luke but David chose to ignore him, and the others decided to follow his lead.  Instead, Vivienne picked up the description where David had left off.  "Well, that Snow White in the story is Queen Snow, Vir's"—she couldn't seem to bring herself to include Valor's name in the explanation—"mother."

"Really?" Rebecca asked with wide-eyed wonder as she looked towards Virtue.

Virtue gave her a good-natured grin.  "Sure kid," she replied, amused that Sleeping Beauty's daughter would be impressed with meeting the descendants of Snow White.

The tour continued with Virtue giving more elaborate descriptions than those provided earlier by her brother, and the general mood of the group had somewhat picked up.  As they stopped in front of one heavy, solid closed door, Virtue announced, "And this is the armory.  But we can't go in because the room's kept locked."

Valor added, "To keep out pint-sized princesses with aspirations of becoming knights."

At his description, Luke snickered—the older members of the group were all aware of Virtue's ambition.  Of course, his response earned him a glare from his brother.  David extended his index figure toward him, a signal that read, "I'm warning you."  Luke, in turn, reciprocated with another single-fingered gesture, one neither so subtle nor diplomatic as his brother's.

Ignoring the by-play between the two brothers, Virtue's attention was turned toward her own.  "Who are you calling pint-sized?  Besides," she continued, not waiting for a response, "At least I _have_ aspirations."

Valor frowned at her implication.  "I have aspirations."

Her interest piqued, and deciding to take the opportunity to learn a little more about him, Vivienne cut into the conversation.  "Really?  Such as what?"

"To be king," he replied quite matter-of-factly, turning to face her.

Vivienne's brow knotted in a frown.  "That's not an aspiration.  You'll be king just because you're the first-born and the only male heir.  Aspirations are things you have to do something for, for them to be fulfilled."

Valor gave her a look.  "I _am_ doing something to be king—and a pretty damn big something I might add—I'm marrying you."

Dead silence ensued in the hallway following his declaration.  David, Virtue, Lillith and Luke remained quiet from the knowledge of what had just been revealed, while Terrence and Rebecca merely sensed the sudden shift in the mood and were too frightened by it to speak up.

"What do you mean?" Vivienne asked in a deadly, quiet voice, which was enough to fill even Valor with dread.  "You're being _forced_ into this?"

"Uh, well, it was kind of an agreement… you know, quid pro quo…" Valor stumbled to explain.

His answer did nothing to appease her.  "What kind of prince are you that you would let yourself be forced into marrying someone you don't even know… or like?" Vivienne asked in open disgust.

Despite his initial wariness at her reaction, Valor wasn't ready to sit by and let her insult him for something that was not his doing.  "The kind that wants to be king," he retorted challengingly.  Really, it wasn't his fault that she hadn't known about the circumstances of his agreement, and he didn't think that she should take out her indignation on him.

"Well," she said, eyes narrowing and her whole body screaming her anger despite the quiet and steady tone of her voice.  Finding out that someone was being forced to marry her wasn't exactly the most wonderful experience of her day and she lashed out at the only suitable target.  "I hate to ruin your plans, but I never agreed to marry you.  All I said was that I would consider it before I made my final decision.  And now, after meeting you, there's no way in hell I'd marry you!"

The others cringed as they watched the scene unfold, each of them unconsciously stepping back from the two participants in order to keep from being caught in the middle.

"Oh really, please, you're breaking my heart," Valor replied, placing his hand over his chest in a wounded gesture, which only added to her fury.  Vivienne could only glare at him before she let out an inarticulate snarl most unbefitting of a princess.  Then she abruptly whirled around and stormed down the hallway, back the way the group had come.

For a moment after her exit, no one even dared to breathe—or look at Valor.  The unnatural stillness was broken however when Rebecca walked up to the prince and stomped on one of his feet.  "You suck!" she declared.

Valor stared down at the angry little girl in open surprise, watching as she too stamped off, long blond hair flouncing behind her.  "I guess this means the tour's over," Virtue announced after a moment's pause.  No one contradicted her.

"I'm going out," her brother informed her in a tight voice, rapidly parting from the group.

"What should I tell mom and—?" Virtue began, but was interrupted by a look.  "Right."

"I guess I should go after Becca, make sure she doesn't get lost," David sighed.

"I'll go with you," Virtue volunteered, and David shot her a grateful smile.

"Me too," Terrence piped in, and the trio departed.

"And I guess I should go check on Viv," Lillith added, also making her exit.

Which left only Luke standing in the now-deserted hallway as he watched the others, including David, leave without a second glance toward him.  He suddenly smiled.  Things could not have worked out better for him.

TBC 

Next time:  The parents are up to something… but what?


	11. Plans set into motion

**A/N:**  I apologize for the longer than usual break this time (for those of you who noticed).  I've been attacked by that savage beast known as the writer's block… I know where I want this story to go, but I'm having a hard time getting there.  But don't fret, because the story is never completely abandoned. ;-)

Okay, before we go on to the next part, I have some acknowledgements to make:

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far.  I think part 10 got the most number of reviews to date.  I'm also beginning to notice a lot of familiar faces (so to speak)—**hemlock**, **Jenny the Chica**, **chien**, **Lagamorph**, and of course **Xaviera**, who you can all thank for keeping this story alive.  She's the one who brought me to my senses when I was about to toss it out.

**KittenGirl555**—Hmm, maybe it's just our differing experience with little kids, but most of the ones I know have a tendency to repeat what they've heard others say… even without completely understanding what it means.  Besides, I wouldn't consider "you suck" cussing—it's pretty tame in my vocabulary.

**Kirjava**—I hope I got my French right this time.  Like I said, it's been a while and I never was really passionate about the language in the first place.  And no worries, I don't take offence at the correction. ;-)

For anyone wondering about possible romance (**hemlock**, **chien**, **christine**):  Nothing is as it appears on the surface.  Remember, this is a parody of the original stories (though I love 'em nonetheless), so there will be no "fairytale" romances.

Other thank you's going out to **Amer**, **Music**, **Calliope**, and **tres fancais** (I don't know if you were going for an 'r' in there and just mistyped).

And I'm glad that Luke has some fans, despite the fact that he can be a bit of a jerk… or is that *why* you like him?

Now, without further ado, to the story…

Chapter 11 

Intersections:  "Plans set into motion"

"So?" Ella asked, hazel gaze turning to their hostess as soon as soon as their children were out of earshot.  "Is it all set?"

Four sets of eyes watches expectantly, shifting from Snow to her husband, Charming2.  The queen, with a satisfied grin, replied, "Of course it is.  I said I'd—we'd—take care of it, and we did."

"How did you arrange it?" Charming1 asked the dark-haired woman, not bothering to direct his question to her husband.  Their host appeared far too absorbed in his rapidly emptying wine goblet to pay much heed to the conversation anyway.

Ella and Charming1 were especially interested in the details, considering it _was_ their daughter at the center of this whole plan, and ensuring her safety was top priority.

"More wine?" their host declared, holding up the elegant decanter in offering.  When the guests declined, he gave a nonchalant shrug and poured himself another healthy serving, guzzling it down in record speed.

"I contacted an old friend," Snow replied as if the interruption had not occurred.  After twenty-one long years—emphasis on long—she had learned to tune out her husband as necessary.  At times it was the only way she could keep from killing him.  "He specializes in this sort of thing.  Don't worry, he assures me at no point will she actually be in danger," she told them as she patted Ella's hand reassuringly.

"It's not that we don't trust your judgment, Snow," Ella replied, a slight frown on her face, which indicated just how troubled she was.  Usually, she would avoid such a gesture at all cost, considering the risk of potential wrinkles and all.

"We just don't want to leave anything to chance," Charming1 finished for his wife.  "If _anything_ should go wrong…"

Being the eternal optimist, Rose decided to enter the conversation at this point, turning to the worried parents.  "Nothing will go wrong," she said pleasantly, her sweet voice still innocent after eighteen years of marriage and seventeen of motherhood.  "If nothing else, you can trust Vivienne to take care of herself."

"Ça vrais," her husband added, taking up her side.  "Vivienne does strike me as rather… headstrong."  Well, that was putting it mildly, but the girl did take after her mother.

"Ah, yes," Ella agreed with a rueful expression.  "After all, that is why we had to resort to this plan in the first place."

"A blessing and a curse," the king replied with a shake of his graying head as he thought of his eldest daughter's personality.  There was a moment's pause before he turned to Snow and asked, "When will it be?"

"Tomorrow, at the ball," the queen replied.  "One way or another, our children are going to learn the value of the good old-fashioned fairytale ending."

And so all that was left to do was to sit back and wait.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ah, perfect, thought Luke as he gazed upon the small statuette resting on one of the many stone pedestals.  After the others headed off in their various directions, Luke had drifted about the castle until he found himself in the vacant library.  Usually, he would never have bothered stepping into such a room, for books rarely held any value for him.  However, this time, when he unknowingly entered the room, he found himself remaining, his gaze drawn by the various trinkets and ornaments strewn about.  He had drifted about until finally coming upon his current prize.

He was so intent upon the figurine, and so confident that he had found himself the perfect window of opportunity that he didn't realize when he was no longer alone.  His hand reached out to grasp it, when a voice spoke up from behind him, "I don't think that's such a good idea."

It took all of Luke's willpower not to scream and jump in surprise.  But not much to keep the guilty expression off his face as he turned around to face the owner of the voice.  Truth be told, being morally challenged, guilt was rarely of concern to him.

He was surprised, however, to find himself staring back at the honey-bond haired Lillith.  "I thought you were supposed to be checking up on your sister," he replied, not bothering to deny her implicit accusation.

"Yeah, well," she replied a little shyly, "Viv's throwing a little temper tantrum right now, and I didn't want to be in the way when she started throwing other things."

Luke stepped away from his intended target in an easy manner that belied his earlier intentions.  "And what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, I was looking for Vir and your brother, and when I saw the door to the library open I thought I'd check in here.  But instead, I found you," she answered a little hurriedly, her words coming out without pause.  It was the most that Luke had ever heard the girl say and he could tell she was a little flustered, and perhaps uncomfortable talking to him.  She apparently wasn't much of a people person.

He decided to turn on his charm in hopes of wheedling his way out of the incriminating circumstances.  So, with a blazing smile, he said, "And what exactly did you think I was about to do?"

Lillith stared back at him skeptically, and Luke was taken aback by the expression.  If her earlier reaction had been any indication, she should have been swooning at his feet by now.

"I think it's pretty obvious what you were about to do," she replied wryly.

Huh?  "What do you mean?" Luke asked, smile never faltering.  He managed to take a couple of casual steps closer to the girl, hoping that physical proximity might help his efforts.

It didn't.  "You were going to steal that statue."

Keep smiling, he told himself.  Sooner or later, the desired effect was bound to kick in.  "What makes you think that?"

"Well, you're in here all alone, and you were reaching for it when I walked in… and it _is_ what you do."

Now the smile did disappear, and an expression of surprise took its place.  "What do you mean that's what I do?"

"Um," the girl suddenly looked even more uncomfortable than she had before, as if she had suddenly realized that she'd said something that might have been better kept to herself.  "You know, this whole stealing thing?  Everyone knows it's what you do."

Luke stared back in shock.  Since when did _everybody_ know about his little habit?  His family, yes.  The servants at his castle, yes.  But not near-strangers.  Not _everybody_!  How was a thief to do his job if the whole world was on its guard against him?

"Who told you that?"

Now Lillith looked _really_ uncomfortable, and though it was obvious she didn't want to answer, she still did.  "My mother."

Luke's eyes narrowed.  Slowly, he spoke, "Your mother told you that I like to steal?"

"No, she didn't say you_ liked_ it… you like it?" she asked curiously.  "Well, I suppose that explains _why_ you do it, because it certainly can't be out of need.  You're a prince, after all!"  She was sidetracking and she corrected herself as she realized this.  "Anyway, she just said that you _do_ it… a lot.  Like, compulsively."

He nodded distractedly as he absorbed the girl's words.  It was an uneasy moment before he replied, "What else did she tell you?"

"About you?  Nothing," she denied quickly with a shake of her head.

A slight gleam appeared in Luke's eyes at her answer.  "Oh?  And what did she say about everyone else?"

Lillith let out a slight groan.  "You can't expect me to tell you that?" she asked in exasperation.  "I mean, come on… your parents must have told you about the rest of us?  It's what parents do before these gatherings, point out everyone's flaws and secrets… who to watch out for, who to be especially nice to.  It's inter-kingdom politics!"

Now that she mentioned it, Luke realized that there was something like that during the carriage ride over from their home.  Of course, he hadn't actually been listening to any of it… since when did he listen to anything that came out of his parents' mouths?

But the conversation was kept from being carried any further when they heard voices coming from the corridor just beyond the door.  A moment later, David, Virtue, and Rebecca entered the room, Rebecca riding piggyback on David.  "Here they are!" Rebecca exclaimed, though by the time she realized that Luke and Lillith were in the room, so had the others.

David and Virtue stared back and forth between the two, the surprise thinly veiled on their faces.  Obviously, they were wondering how the pair had ended up together—in the library, no less—especially since neither had spoken a word to the other since their arrival at the castle.

"What's going on?" David asked with forced casualness.

"We were catching up on our reading," Luke snapped irritably.  He was still reeling from the news he had been presented with, and was in no mood to put up with his brother, someone he had a hard enough time dealing with even when he was feeling particularly chipper.

"Oh, we just kind of ran into each other," Lillith replied before David could react to his brother's biting remark.  "I was looking for you guys."

"Well, here we are!" Rebecca interjected happily.

"And what were _you_ doing?" Virtue asked, looking at Luke.  And there was just enough suspicion in her voice to make him realize the truth of Lillith's confession.  So they had all been warned against him.

Pulling out one of his brightest smiles—the very one that had failed to impress Lillith earlier—he turned to their hostess.  "Why, just admiring your wonderful book collection."

"Riiight," Virtue replied with a roll of her eyes and a subtle snort that showed him just what she thought of his attempt to charm her.

Luke was growing increasingly alarmed.  Two failed attempts in a single day, this was beyond precedence!  He must be losing his touch; that appeared to be the only answer.

David had placed Rebecca on the ground after she'd begun squirming about, nonverbally indicating that she wished to be let down.  Seeing the dismal expression on her brother's face, she quickly ran over and hugged Luke's leg.

"Don't worry, Luke, I still like you," she said, sending a cheery smile up at him.

The others laughed at her little gesture, and even Luke found it impossible to suppress a smile, despite being the source of everyone's amusement.  Looking back into her brother's grinning face, she continued, "And you're a lot better than that big meanie, Val."

TBC

**A/N:**  Well, that's all for now.  Hopefully, the cure for my writer's block will be found in the new year.

Translations:  "Ça vrais" = it's true/that's true 


	12. Every good fairytale has to have a ball

**A/N:**  No more writer's block!  I have a whole fresh new batch of ideas so I should be back to more regular updates.  Thanks to everyone for your support.

Xaviera ~ About the parents, you're kinda right, but there's more than you might think… you'll have to wait to see what I mean.  I don't think Vir would get mad at Becca for what she said… I have brothers, and I love 'em and everything, but if I were in Vir's position I'd just find it funny.  I think it's the age thing… little kid, older brother, no harm done.  As for endings, only time will tell.

LittleMissMosh ~ We'll see where the story goes.  I won't avoid it if it works its way in, but I'm not going out of my way to include any.

As Kerista pointed out, I've been neglected Terry a little, so here's a chapter that tries to remedy that.  Thanks for bringing it to my attention!  Constructive criticism always welcome.

Chapter 12 

"Every good fairytale has to have a ball"

"The other guests have begun arriving," Lillith called over her shoulder as she peered out of the window of her sister's guest quarters.  She was all dressed for the ball, in a beautiful gown of pale yellow that actually managed to highlight the loveliness of her long honey-colored hair.

"So?" a sullen voice replied from behind her.

Lillith turned to face Vivienne, who sat slouched in her own green dress, the one that the young seamstress, Anne, had so painstakingly sewn.  Her lips were turned down in a slight pout and her brown eyes remained trained on the floor before her.

"You should be careful," Lillith warned her as she drifted away from the window.  "If mother finds a single wrinkle in that dress, you know she'll make you wait until it's steamed out before you go down."

"Good," Vivienne declared petulantly.  "Then I'll only have to spend less time at that dreaded ball, and more time away from that dreaded _Valor_.  And I get the added bonus of irritating mother."

Lillith sighed, placing her hands on her hips.  "You irritate mother and _we_ have to put up with her ranting and raving," she reminded her.

"Well, if _I_ don't irritate her, something else will and we'll still have to put up with her ranting and raving, but I won't get my little bit of fun."

"No, no, wouldn't want to ruin your fun," Lillith drawled.  Then she reached forward the grabbed her sister's arms, tugging on them insistently.  "Now get up before mother sees you."

Grudgingly, Vivienne complied.

**********************

Adults were boring, that was something Terrence had decided a long time ago.  But adult parties were equally so, and that was a more recent discovery.  They shouldn't even be called parties, since they were hardly the image of what he considered a good time.  But to be fair, this one wasn't actually called that, but rather was referred to as a "ball."  Of course, that didn't mean that it was anything but one of their so-called parties with all the stuffy formalities and tedious conversations such occasions entailed.

And the clothes!  Terrence tugged at the collar of his coat yet again, the action bringing no more relief now than it had the other hundred or so times that night he had performed it.  The intricate buttons were done up firmly, and nothing short of ripping them off would allow him to change that.  If there was one thing David knew how to do well, it was to tamper-proof clothes.  His many years of dressing both Terrence and Rebecca had developed that talent.

Of course, in Terrence's opinion, David knew everything.  His eldest brother was a veritable fountain of knowledge, skill, bravery, aptitude, and whatever other qualities one could hope for in a person.  And Terrence's own greatest aspiration was to one day be just like him.  Which was also, in his eyes, the exact opposite of his brother, Luke.  Where the animosity had begun, no one could say for sure, though it was not an abnormal part of sibling relations, especially as the number of children increased.  Someone was bound not to get along with someone else.

In the case of their family, however, Luke seemed incapable of getting along with anyone.  Except for Rebecca.  But she was only five and didn't know any better, but Terrence was sure once she'd reached his own wizened age of ten, she too would see beyond Luke's pleasant façade and learn the true nature of the beast beneath.

Despite his feelings though, he had to admit a grudging amount of respect for Luke.  Luke could do whatever he wanted, risking angering whomever he chose, and never experience any fear for the consequences.  And he really seemed to enjoy himself in the process.

Terrence sighed in his boredom, ducking between two pairs of adult legs as he managed to sneak inconspicuously about the crowded ballroom.  The less he was noticed, the better, because he wasn't sure that he could deal with any more, "Oh, aren't you just the sweetest little thing?" or "You've certainly grown into a fine young man."

No, he wasn't the "sweetest little thing"—that job was Rebecca's and she fulfilled it with all the adorable ease that made the women coo and the men grin.  And if they were looking for "fine young men," they should go find David, because all Terrence was, was one extremely bored ten-year-old boy.

'What to do, what to do?' he thought, swimming through the crowds easily, catching snippets of conversation here and there over the sound of the bland music playing in the background.  All he had to do was stay away from the dancing, and he was sure that he could survive the night, if not enjoy it.

"He said what?  That's outrageous!  Everyone knows that an evil enchantress is more powerful than a dark mage…  A mere mage, not even a sorcerer!"

"That's what I heard.  And that's how the witch really learned that someone else had been coming up to the tower.  I mean, she was already five months along and starting to show…"

"Fairies, such useless creatures anyway.  If it weren't for all this talk about alliances and treaties, they wouldn't get away with half the stuff they do…"

"A dragon, a knight, and a maiden walk into a tavern—now stop me if you've heard this one before…"

As Terrence found himself edging toward an empty corner in search of some respite, he heard two familiar voices whispering harshly among the shadows of some exotic shrubbery Queen Snow had had imported for this special occasion.  She'd been ordering about burly servants all morning, arranging them just so, along with the various other decorations that now adorned the room.

"Yes, I double-checked, triple-checked, and checked once more for good measure… is set to go… tonight… worry too much…"

"I can't help it… goes wrong?"

"Nothing will go wrong… relax… enjoy the ball… let everything unfold on its own."

A sigh.  "… right.  Thank you, Snow."

"Of course, Ella.  But now, if you don't mind," she replied, voice returning to normal conversation level.  "I have a ball to host."

Terrence ducked away as the figures of his mother's friends reemerged from the shadows.  Both looked stunning in their gowns, expressions calm and composed, betraying none of the emotions conveyed during their conversation.  They returned to the party through different directions, quickly immersing themselves in conversations with various other guests.

Terrence frowned, realizing that he had just unwittingly been privy to something important, but unable to piece together what.  He wondered whether his mother knew anything about this.  He glanced about the room, locating her in the midst of a crowd of well-dressed strangers, but before he could reach her, Queen Ella came up at her side.

Rose sent a reassuring smile in her friend's favor, and Terrence paused.  Maybe she did.  Oh well, it was probably just something about Valor and Vivienne anyway.  He shrugged, his mind straying quickly as the face of a middle-aged women wearing far too much makeup and a ridiculous amount of jewelry appeared before him.  Her index finger and thumb were already arranged in the shape of a crab's pinschers, and he quickly jumped back in alarm.  But he was surrounded on all sides by people unaware of his desperate situation, and all he could do was watch in horror as the claws extended toward his face.

"Aren't you the sweetest little thing?"

**********************

Luke watched as Valor dealt with the eager throngs of young—and some not so young—women who fought for a chance to catch the interest of the eligible young prince.  He handled them with a graceful ease that saw to it that enough attention was applied to each, but no more on one than any other.  He played no favorites, but laughed, flirted, and smiled with each in equal amounts, regardless of how beautiful or plain, how kind or rude, how highly ranked, or lowly born she was.  And they seemed to love him all the more for it.

It wasn't just the women either.  The young men flocked about him, eager to impress their host, to earn his favor and the right to call him a friend.  They watched the way in which the women responded to him, hoping to learn whatever tricks he used to acquire such popularity, and were only faintly disappointed as they realized there were no tricks, no secrets, no rules of the trade, so to speak.  He was simply charismatic and charming, a delight to be around and people responded to him with the same warmth with which he answered them.

The women wanted him and the men wanted to be him.  And no one held any of it against him.  Luke had finally found someone to admire.  Of course, it was not friendship or love he sought, but the blind desire to please that he saw in the eyes of everyone that crowded around the prince.  For all his own charms and magnetism, he could never produce such a powerful and lasting result.

Yet Valor seemed to do it with such careless ease, his flirtations and jokes coming naturally, the smiles he drew with them serving as all the more fuel for the adoration.  It seemed that no one—with the exception of one redheaded princess—could dislike the man.

'And speak of the devil,' Luke thought with a grin as he watched a familiar figure slip up to Valor's elbow.

******

For Valor's part, he was truly enjoying the ball, even if he knew his parents had thrown it with the express purpose of presenting a reason for Vivienne's family to make the trip to their kingdom.  Parties were his natural environment, and he never found himself more at ease than when he was in the midst of such light-hearted celebrations.

Usually, he would have been through several glasses of wine by now—wine at the parties, ale and other drinks at the smaller, informal gatherings—but his mother had expressly requested that he abstain from the alcohol for just this one night.  Not that he would have gotten drunk and embarrassed his family if he drank, because he knew such behavior in public was unacceptable for the future king.  More likely, they wanted him to keep a clear head during any and all confrontations with Vivienne, for they had already heard about the last meeting between the two.  And Snow had not been happy about that.

Of course, she didn't outright blame Valor, knowing that her usually easy-going son must have had some provocation before reacting in an inhospitable manner, but she wasn't ready to dismiss his part in it entirely.  She wanted him to make a greater effort, especially now that he knew Vivienne had not yet agreed to the marriage, and some convincing would be required.  Well, her exact word had been "wooing," but Valor had almost choked just upon hearing it, and he doubted that he could utter it himself with a serious face.

But he had made such efforts earlier and all he got in return were bruised toes.  Upon his mother's insistence, he had asked Vivienne to dance, who upon her own mother's order—which, of course, had been cleverly disguised as a mere suggestion—had agreed.  During the dance, she had managed to step on his feet so many times that he had lost count.  She had apologized, claiming that she just couldn't seem to get the beat of the music, but there had been a malicious glint in her eyes that had informed him that the "accidents" had been anything but.

So he had immersed himself in the revelry, choosing to shut her out of his mind completely, just for the night if nothing else.  Which was why he didn't clue in immediately when a crown of red curls, accentuated by a lovely green dress appeared in his peripheral vision, pushing past the other scores of women eager to get within arm's length of the prince tonight.  And, which was why he turned to the new arrival, a rakish grin on his face and a flirtatious comment on his lips, oozing all that allure and confidence that drove the women so mad.

The smile faded as soon as he identified the face.  "Princess Vivienne," he greeted formally, a new and forced expression of pleasantry gracing his features.

There was a look akin to surprise in her eyes as she caught his gaze, but it quickly turned to anger.  "A moment of your time please," she spoke with contrived calm.

"Of course," he replied, keeping his carefully controlled composure as he watched her expectantly.

"In private," Vivienne hissed.  There was enough anger emanating off the redhead that the other women, who had previously been watching her with thinly veiled resentment at the way in which she had so audaciously snared the prince's attention, now backed off in an almost imperceptible retreat.  Even the other young men, with the exception of Luke, looked uneasy.

Valor had a snide comment with which to answer her, but he chose not to share it as he had the feeling that it would not at all be appreciated.  Whatever it was that had already gotten her in her current state, there was no reason to add fuel to the fire.  So instead, he politely excused himself, leading her away from the throng to a nearby, vacated balcony.  But before he left the group, he caught Luke's eye, and the other prince gave him a sympathetic look.

Reaching the doors of the terrace, Valor gave an almost indiscernible nod to the two sentries posted there, indicating that they were not to be disturbed without good reason.

Neither spoke as they made the trip.

Once they were outside, he didn't wait for her, choosing to start instead.  "What is wrong now?" he asked with a roll of his eyes, a gesture far removed from the amiable attitude he had displayed inside.

"What do you think you're doing?" she shot back.

He paused a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face before replying, "Having a conversation with the most disagreeable person I've ever met."

Choosing to ignore the barb, she clarified, "I mean, what do you think you're doing _in_ _there_?"

"Oh, that.  Being a good host."

"Being a good host?  Does that necessarily entail flirting with every woman who looks your way?" Vivienne seethed.

Wait a minute, what was this?  She couldn't possibly be jealous, as she had clearly conveyed that she had no desire to have anything to do with him.  So why was she angry?  "Not necessarily, but it is fairly successful tactic.  Why do you care?"

"Because," she replied, as if the answer were obvious to any idiot, with the exception of the idiot before her, "You've supposedly agreed to marry me—even if I haven't agreed to marry you—and you're in there with your carousing, and living it up like you're the most eligible bachelor in the place.  Is this how you plan to convince me?"

"First of all," Valor replied, folding his arms over his chest and leaning lazily against he railing.  "Just for your information, as far as everyone in there is concerned, I _am_ the most eligible bachelor in the place.  That may be hard for you to believe, considering how very much you despise me, but believe it or not, it's true.  Secondly, I have no intention of trying to convince you to marry me, as I know that nothing I do or say will be of any use.  If you choose to assent, you will do so for your own reasons, and not for any reasons having to do with me."

Vivienne stared back at him, a startled expression on her face, and he decided to use the moment to his advantage.  Before she could think of a response, he concluded, with a look of utter boredom, "Now, if we have that all cleared up, I would like to return to my guests."  And without waiting for her response, he turned abruptly, leaving her standing with her slightly open, and a storm brewing in her hazel eyes.

TBC 

Next time:  The ball continues.  And remember all that talk about "tonight"?  Well, it's steadily approaching.


	13. Aftermaths

**A/N:**  I put this chapter out so quickly to make up for the huge gap between the last two, when I was suffering from my writer's block.  But don't expect the next one to be as speedy—I've got papers and assignments coming up so I'll be swamped!

Renebre ~ Clichés?  gasp!  Actually, I'm quite aware of the clichéd nature of the plot… and I never viewed the thing as being all that original.  My focus, however, has been more on the characters than anything else, and even those might not be so innovative.  But I'm just here to entertain and have a little fun myself. J

Kirjava ~ I'm not quite sure where the confusion arose, but just to clarify: in Ch.12, what I meant was that David had dressed both Terry and Becca.  That make sense?

Xaviera ~ blinks  A request for an appearance?  Wow, I've never had one of those before.  I'm glad you like David so much, and just for you I added a scene with him that wasn't originally going to be in this chapter.  As for Luke, I don't think it's Val himself he admires, so much as the hold he has over people.  The blind desire to please… that's something that Luke would just love to have directed toward him.  You're right though, Luke would have a hard time really respecting anyone.

Chapter 13 

Intersections:  "Aftermaths"

Vivienne was still fuming when she returned to the party to seek out her personal confidante, her sister.  She located her shortly, identifying her from afar by the color of her dress.  At the moment, she happened to be engaged in a conversation with David and Virtue.  She approached the group swiftly, the abundant skirts of her dress flouncing, and her rage leaking from every pore, a sure warning sign to the three young people who turned to greet her.

"What's wrong?" Lillith quickly asked, her smile disappearing as concern colored her voice.

"What's wrong is that I had the misfortune of ever coming into contact with that pig-in-a-crown over there," Vivienne returned, inclining her head to indicate the general direction in which Valor had returned to his own awaiting assemblage.

"Who, Val?" Virtue replied, confusion etched on her face.  "Why, what'd he do?"

Vivienne let out an inelegant snort.  "The list is so enormous, I don't think we'd have time to go through it all.  But he most recent thing would be the way he's been flirting all night with every creature of the two-legged variety."

She glanced about the group and was surprised to see David's cheeks coloring mildly, while Lillith made an earnest attempt to hide a smile.  Virtue gave a dismissive shrug.

"Oh, that.  Don't worry about it," she said, looking completely unperturbed.  "That's just who Val is… it doesn't mean anything.  He just has to play the part of the debonair host to the hilt.  And the incessant flirting—well, I think that's something he picked up from dad.  Really, you shouldn't worry about it."

But Vivienne was not to be so easily pacified.  "If it doesn't mean anything, then he shouldn't be doing it.  I mean, of all the times for such behavior… doesn't he possess any self-restraint?"

"Viv," she heard as Lillith put a warning hand on her arm, a gesture meant to convey that she should be more watchful of what she was saying.

Vivienne shook it off and continued, unheeding.  "He is an absolute, childish, spineless jerk, who shouldn't even be considering marriage until he grows up and learns the meaning of the word 'adult'!"

"Now wait a minute," Virtue finally interrupted her little tirade, her dark blue eyes glinting with her own anger.  "I know Val isn't perfect, and he hasn't been his usual personable self in his encounters with you, but he is not the absolute ogre you make him out to be.  If you want him to treat you nicely, then maybe you could extend him the same courtesy.  And he may be childish, but he's not the one throwing a temper tantrum every fifteen minutes, and he doesn't go around bad-mouthing you behind your back.  And, above all, he is my brother.  So if you have any issues with him, could you manage to keep them to yourself at least while I'm around?"

At that, Virtue stalked away, leaving a stunned Vivienne in her wake.  That was the second time that night a member of the hosting family had left her in such an abrupt manner.  Her own ire and confusion raised, for a moment she contemplated what to do.  Finally, she too chose to depart, heading in the opposite direction toward the exit.

~*~*~*~

Lillith sent alternating glances in the two paths the princesses had taken.  While she agreed with Virtue, Vivienne was her sister and she probably needed someone to talk to after that harsh reprimand.  Finally, she glanced toward David who, although not caught between the opposing forces as she was, seemed unsure of whether or not to follow Virtue.

Lillith decided to aid him in his decision.  "How about I go after Vivienne, and you go after Vir?"

David sent her a worried look.  "Are you sure that's a good idea?  Maybe Vir needs some time to herself."

Lillith suppressed a sigh.  "No, I doubt she should be alone.  That'll only make her seethe and stew in her own anger, with no one there to distract her.  And it might make her think that we agree with Vivienne so we're avoiding her."

David appeared surprised.  "You don't?  I mean, she is your sister and all…" he trailed off uncertainly.

"Yes, she's my sister.  So I, above all, should know just how unreasonable she can be.  Besides, don't tell me you agree with everything your siblings do and say?"  She gave him a pointed look, clearly indicating the less-than-amicable relationship he had with Luke.

"Yeah, I guess," he replied, glancing away.  After a moment's consideration, he conceded.  "Okay, I'll go."

"Good," Lillith grinned.  "Now, I have to catch Viv before she breaks anything… including the bones of unsuspecting bystanders."

David gave her a look that read 'I hope you're kidding' before he departed.

As it turned out, Vivienne was not in quite the rage Lillith had expected of her sister.  In fact, she looked downright apologetic.  Lillith found her standing alone outside in the cooling night air, arms wrapped about herself in a strangely vulnerable gesture.

"Hi," Lillith ventured, coming up from behind and hoping not to startle the other girl.

"Have you come to berate me too?" Vivienne asked with a sigh.

"No, of course not.  Not to say that I don't agree with Vir—because I do.  It's just not why I'm here."

Vivienne continued to stare up at the sky, refusing to meet her gaze.  "Then why are you here?"

"To see how you were doing.  And to clean up the path of destruction you left behind.  Or rather, I should say, the path of destruction I expected you to leave behind."

Her sister sighed again, a weary set to her shoulders.  "I'm not angry."  And it was obvious from her tone that she was telling the truth.  What had brought upon this change of heart, Lillith couldn't determine.

"Are you sure?" she replied hesitantly.

Although Vivienne's faced was mostly turned away from her, Lillith was sure there was a small smile on her lips.  "Of course I'm sure.  All else faults aside, I can certainly identify my emotions."  Then, on a more serious note, "No, I'm not angry… not with Virtue, at least.  She was only defending her brother.  And she was right too."

"She was?"

"Yes.  Even if I thought all those things, I should never have said them in front of her.  I shouldn't have said them in front of anyone.  What you and I talk about is different—we're sisters—but I shouldn't say such things to others.  I mean, I hardly even know David, and that didn't stop me from blurting that all out.  What must he think of me?"  She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and silently turning the thoughts over in her head.

"Even if?" Lillith finally broke in, unable to keep from asking.

Vivienne's head came up as she turned to face her sister.  "What?" she replied, confused.

"You said 'even if' you thought all those things…  Are you saying that you don't?"

A warning look entered her sister's face.  "Don't even start that.  I don't like the guy; that is a fact.  And a few harsh words from his sister are not enough to change it."

"You don't know him well enough not to like him!" Lillith shot back, her patience finally wearing thin.  Vivienne may have been older by three years, but Lillith knew that it was she who was infinitely more mature of the two.  "It's just your anger clouding your judgment."  She took a calming breath and continued more quietly, "And it's not even Val that you're really angry at, anyway… you're angry at mom and dad, but you're displacing.  Vir's right—he's not that bad a guy.  Heck, he's even willing to marry someone he doesn't know, someone who has made it clear she can't stand him, just to please his parents."

"He's willing to comply to ensure he gets the throne," Vivienne denied.  "You heard him say so himself."

"Oh really, Viv, I can't believe you bought into that," Lillith replied with exasperation.  "If they don't give the throne to Val, who else would they choose… Vir?  You know, I like the girl and all, but I hardly think her parents would want to leave her their kingdom."  She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.  "No, I'm pretty sure that Val's got his place set, and that whole reason is just an excuse that keeps up his image."

Vivienne digested this all quietly, for once putting her anger aside to think things through clearly.  When she didn't respond for a while, Lillith realized that she must have gotten through to her at least a little.

When she did finally speak, her tone was light and a little teasing, "And aren't you eve so observant?"

Lillith sighed and let a small smile creep up on her face.  "You know how it is; it's always the quiet ones, sitting back and watching as everyone else does all the talking."

Vivienne scoffed, though the gesture was playful and not at all malicious.  "Seems to me, you've been dong an awful lot of talking lately."

She chose not to reply, instead returning to the more serious matter.  "But what really made you think that Vir was right?"

Her sister groaned.  "I should've known better than to think you would just let this thing drop already."

All she received from Lillith was a stern look demanding answers.  She was not fooled by Vivienne's casual attitude, and knew that there would had to have been more than just Virtue's words to change her mind.  Mere words never seemed to persuade the elder princess, unless she were repeatedly knocked over the head with them so there was no escape.  In that way, she was very much like their mother, Ella.

"Oh, fine!" Vivienne finally yielded.  "If you _must_ know, it was just seeing him, the way that he was acting with everyone else… and how that all changed the moment he saw me… I realized that maybe—_maybe_—he wasn't as truly atrocious a person as I'd originally thought.  Maybe it was me who was bringing out the worst in him."

Lillith's eyebrows rose.  Coming from her sister, that was quite the concession.

"But, I still don't—" Vivienne quickly began.

"You still don't like him," Lillith interrupted, finishing the comment before her sister could.  "I know, I know.  You've made that abundantly clear."

There was a long pause and the pair lapsed into silence.  Lillith was pleased with the progress she had made with her stubborn sister, and she didn't want to push her luck.  Vivienne, no doubt, wanted the conversation to end as quickly as possible.  She had no desire to dwell on the subject of just how wrong she had been.

At last Lillith spoke up.  "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go back inside."

"I think I'll stay outside a while longer.  Maybe take a walk through the garden first."

"All right," Lillith replied, knowing there was probably a lot on her mind and she needed a moment to herself.  "But don't stay out too long, okay?"

"What are you, my mother?" Vivienne returned.

"If I were mother, I would have told you to come inside before you caught a cold because a runny red nose is sure to turn away any potential suitors."

Vivienne responded by sticking out her tongue, and as Lillith turned back to return to the ball, she thought, 'Yep, definitely the mature one.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

David found Virtue sulking alone on a terrace—coincidentally, the very terrace where her brother and Vivienne had had their own confrontation.  Her back was to him, but from the hunched way in which she stood, with her elbows resting on the railing, he could sense the weariness coming off of her.

"Hi," he said softly, coming up beside her.  Instead of facing her though, he chose to direct his glance in the same direction as hers, out into the empty courtyard below them.

"Hi," she mumbled in return.  There was a brief moment of silence and then she shifted uncomfortably, the long material of her dress making a swishing noise as she did so.  "I hate these things."

"What things?" he asked curiously.

He could see her shrug from the corner of his eye.  "Parties.  Dressing up.  Dresses.  I always feel so out of place.  And this is so uncomfortable," she complained, indicating the gown.

Now David did turn, taking in her appearance; how the blue of her dress brought out her eyes, how the usually unruly mass of auburn hair had somehow been tamed into a lovely train of curls that fell down her back.

"I think you look really nice."

Immediately after saying the words, they both blushed.  Of course, in the darkness of the veranda it was difficult to tell.  But there was an uncomfortable quiet that followed.

It's not that David hadn't meant the words… it was just that he wasn't used to having such conversations.  And from her reaction, he judged that neither was Virtue.

"Do you think I was wrong?" she asked abruptly.

Grateful for the change in topics, he quickly replied, "No, I don't, and neither does Lilly.  I mean, Val's your brother and there's only so much you can be expected to listen to."  He didn't really know the other prince, but he assumed it was the least amount of defense he would have afforded Terrence if he were ever in the same situation.  Maybe even Luke—because brothers were brothers, even if this one wouldn't have returned the favor—but it was a big maybe.

Then he added, knowing that it might help, "Lilly went to talk to Vivienne, so hopefully she'll see it the same way."

There was another pause as Virtue seemed to absorb and contemplate his words.  Then, after a while, she let out a sigh and leaned into David's side.  "Do you mind just staying out here for a while?  Like I said, I don't really like these things…"

"Sure," he answered.  And, because it seemed like the right thing to do, he cautiously reached over and placed an arm around her shoulders.  When she didn't hit him or ask him what the hell he was doing, he let himself relax and a smile spread across his face.

TBC 

**A/N**:  I was afraid that Vivienne might be coming off as too temperamental, and a little overly harsh on Val, so that's why I wrote this as I did.  On another note, I just realized that I was originally spelling Lillith's name with one 'L' and then sometime later I switched to two.  So if anyone else noticed it, don't bother pointing it out—I'm just too lazy to go back and change it.  Let's just go with two from now on, 'kay?


	14. Speculations run rampant

**fairy_true** ~ Hey sweetie, I can't upload that fast!  I put up the chapters as I write them, and unfortunately the story has to take a back seat to school.  You should probably expect about a chapter per week, anywhere from Friday to Monday.  As for romance, I said I wasn't going out of my way to include it, but that little scene between David and Vir found me… completely spur of the moment.  You know Viv's going to give in?  "The lady doth protest too much" eh?

**bradleigh** ~ I feel you underestimate Luke.  He's just waiting for the perfect opportunity. ::laughs evilly::  Seriously though, don't worry about him going soft.  There's still plenty of time for him to cause trouble.

**hemlock** ~ I thought I would have gotten to "the plan" by now, I really did.  But it seems that my attempt to include everyone's point of view at the ball are drawing it out longer than I expected.  You put me on your "favorite" list?  ::wipes away a tear::

**Hway-Ling** ~ Oops, sorry darlin'!  I completely overlooked the fact that some people have taken no French whatsoever... me and my Canadian ways plead ignorance.  I've gone back and added translations in the footnotes (I think I caught most of them), and I'll make sure to do so from now on.

And thanks to everyone else who reviewed!  If I don't mention you by name, it's only because you didn't bring up any specific questions/issues I felt the need to clarify.  But I still appreciate the comments!

Chapter 14 

Intersections:  "Speculations run rampant"

Luke watched with interest as Valor left the group with Vivienne by his side, both heading toward a terrace for privacy.  As soon as the two were out of earshot, the conversation erupted around Luke.

"Who was _that_?" a glaring blond with cool blue eyes demanded.  She was a princess; her haughty demeanor confirmed it, as did the obscenely expensive gown and jewelry she wore—the latter of which, by the way, was interesting Luke very much—though her name currently escaped him.

"Princess Vivienne," a bored looking young man with chestnut hair and half-hooded matching eyes supplied.  "Eldest daughter of Queen Cinderella."  He was the perfect image of princeliness… handsome in a careless, natural way, adorned in enough finery to show his position, but not so much as to seem to be overcompensating, and fashionably bored.  Of course, it was all a carefully maintained façade, cleverly constructed for the very purpose it served, but around here, appearances were all that mattered.

The blond was not at all happy with the answer.  Suddenly, the pretty, nameless redhead had been promoted from the position of pesky setback to serious competition.  Being the daughter of _the_ Cinderella gave her an edge that even wealth, power, and beauty combined would have difficulty competing with.  In this world of theirs, such famous heritages were treasured and revered, exalting their bearers, making the children of such fairytale romances the most sought-after for marriages.  A fairytale family was said to possess luck and good fortune unsurpassed, and whenever rough times fell on such individuals, they would always persevere.  That was part of the reason that Valor was considered such a prize himself.

"She can't just show up like that and take him away!" whined a petite, vapid-eyed girl with a mass of brown ringlets on her head.

The high-pitched voice grated into Luke's nerves and he repressed a shudder.  'She just did, you little twit,' he thought, but had tact enough to keep it to himself.

The blond regarded the other girl with a look that said, 'Oh please, like you had a chance with him anyway.'  Either the brunette wasn't quite as stupid as Luke had assumed, or she merely sensed the hostility pouring off the other princess, because she quickly snapped her mouth shut and took an almost imperceptible step back.

Somewhere to Luke's right, a laughing voice whispered, "Watch out, looks like Nora's got her claws out."  Fortunate for him, Nora was too distracted to overhear the comment, as she would not have taken too kindly to the speaker.

A willowy girl with a soft, melodic voice broke in, speaking in a calm and soothing tone, "What I would like to know is what business she has with him.  She seemed fairly angry, and did you see the way they were looking at each other?"

A sudden glint appearing in his eyes, Luke decided to speak up now.  "From what I hear," he began slowly, making sure every eye was on him before he continued.  "Their parents are negotiating a marriage.  Of course," he added with a carefully nonchalant shrug, "Nothing's final yet."

"Engaged, is she?" the bored prince remarked.  "What a shame."

"But it hasn't been finalized?" Nora demanded, locking her cold gaze on Luke's, fixing him on the spot with an expression that would have made a lesser person cower before her.  But personally, Luke was enjoying the proceedings far too much to be frightened.

"That's what I hear," he answered, barely suppressing a satisfied grin.

Nora looked thoughtful.  "And who is your source, that you know of all this before the rest of us?"

"Well, my family has been enjoying the hospitality of our hosts for the past week… as has Queen Ella's."

"You mean she's had him all to herself for the past week?" the brown-haired airhead squeaked, her surprise overtaking her fear and lending her the courage to speak.

"Ah well, then it's all but settled," the calm girl remarked with a resigned sigh.  She didn't seem as determined as some of the others, namely Nora and brunette.

Oh no, they couldn't all back off now—what about Luke's fun?  He decided to throw in a bone to the gathering, to renew their determination.  "Actually, from what I hear, there's been some resistance… from Vivienne."  The female portion of the gathering gaped at him in disbelief.  "Val seems to have decided to comply, so the parents still have some hope for the arrangement.  But if he were to change his mind…"

"Then they might give up on the marriage," Nora completed with a calculating smile.  "So all I—we—have to do is supply Valor with a reason to not want to marry her."

Luke fought the urge to roll his eyes.  Considering that he had practically spoon-fed her the idea, she certainly appeared proud of herself.  The group fell silent as they spotted Valor returning from the terrace—more significantly, returning alone—a grim expression replacing his earlier easy-going demeanor.  The dark cloud that hung over him was enough to scare away all but the most persistent pursuers, for at least until his anger had washed away.

The numbers of the group dwindled quickly, as people found convenient reasons to part before the prince rejoined them, until the only ones remaining were Luke, Nora, and the bored prince.  For a moment, it appeared as if the vapid brunette planned to stay as well, but Nora shot her one decisive glare that sent the smaller girl scurrying away without a backward glance.

The brown-haired prince held up a goblet of wine in offering.  Valor stared contemplatively at the drink for a moment, before shaking his head and retrieving a glass of punch from one of the servers instead.  Luke raised an eyebrow in surprise, and he could sense the same feeling in the others, but no one commented.

"Valor," Nora said is a falsely sweet voice, coming up to the prince's side.  "Whatever has happened to put you in such a dark mood?"  The sudden sugary act made Luke want to gag, and he saw the third prince sputter slightly on his wine.

"It's nothing.  Just a minor disagreement," Valor replied easily, giving her a reassuring smile.  "One that's been resolved."

"That was Princess Vivienne, was it not?" she continued persistently, though it was obvious to the other princes there that Nora already knew the answer to that question.

Luke noted the instantaneous response that flashed in Valor's eyes, and the accompanying tightening in his jaw.  "Yes."

"I haven't seen her since she was five," the bored-looking prince broke in, keeping Nora from continuing in her line of questioning.  Valor appeared grateful, but the princess shot an annoyed look in his direction.  "She certainly has… changed," he said with a half-grin.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure, Mal.  She still acts like a five-year-old," Valor returned, answering his grin with a wry one of his one.  Mal—Malyn, actually, Luke now remembered—gave a laugh.

Nora did not look at all pleased at being ignored by the three males in the group.  Suddenly, she smiled and turned to Valor.  "You know, this is supposed to be a ball, and I haven't had a single dance so far."  She looked at the prince pointedly, her gaze as expectant as her pleasant demeanor was false.

"Then allow me the pleasure to grant you that first," Malyn offered gallantly, coming to other man's rescue.

Luke could have laughed at the expression with which Nora graced him, but he knew better than to raise Nora's ire.  People like that tended to hold grudges.

"Of course, that would be a wonderful idea," Valor quickly jumped in before the princess could contrive an excuse.  "After all, Mal here is a much better dancer than I."

Effectively trapped, Nora consented, practically dragging Malyn behind her as she stormed off to the dance floor, skirts flouncing with each step taken.  The prince sent Valor a 'you-owe-me-for-this' expression over his shoulder.

"Well, she certainly seems to have taken a shine to you," Luke ventured after a moment's pause.

Valor sighed.  "Yeah, it's the whole fairytale heritage thing.  It's more of a curse than a blessing."  Then he glanced over at Luke and added, "You'll see for yourself, when you're a little older, old enough to marry."

Luke wasn't so sure about the curse part.  If he had to be a prince, he might as well take the advantages of being the son of a fairytale couple.  He told Valor as much and received a laugh from the other man.  "Why, what would you be if you weren't a prince?"

Luke grinned, his face brightening at the question.  "A thief.  A master thief, of course," he replied, green eyes shining with genuine pleasure.

"Ah, of course," Valor said, nodding his head in agreement.  "And what, exactly, would you steal?"

"Oh, this and that," he answered, shrugging.  "Maybe work for hire… like retrieval and rescue operations."

"Retrieval and rescue?  Isn't that usually reserved for knights and adventurers?"

Luke snorted.  "Sure, but no one could do the job better than a thief.  Just slip into the dragon's lair or the sorcerer's fortress, grab the princess, magical scrolls, whatever, and slip back out.  Forget the whole big rescue with the mismatched band of rogue adventurers or the knight on his white steed."  He had given great thought to this in the past, even if it was highly unlikely he would ever be able to put that knowledge to use.  Hey, even he could have dreams.

"But what about the dragon or the sorcerer?  You'd have to kill them, or what's to stop them from going out and doing the same thing all over again?"

"Exactly," Luke replied, giving him a sly grin.  "Repeat business.  You have to think like a businessman, Val.  It's all about supply and demand."

Valor laughed, conceding to the younger prince's logic.  "You're right, it does sound more interesting than being a prince."

"Well," Luke said, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "That can be good too, if you do it right."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Terrence was in the process of searching out his brother, David, when he ran into Lillith—literally.  He heard light laughter and glanced up into the familiar face.

"Hi," Lillith said, sending him a smile.  "Where are you heading?"

Terrence blinked, and cleared his throat before answering.  "Um, I'm trying to find David."

"Oh."  Lillith's gaze shifted for a second, her face thoughtful.  "Well, I have a favor to ask of you before you do that."

"Yeah?" he asked, shifting on his feet.  Terrence had found Lillith to be the nicest of all the princesses, and the most approachable.  Her sister frankly frightened him, and although Virtue was nice enough in her own way, she appeared to be competition for David's attention, to which Terrence did not take kindly.

"Could you help me find Val?"

"Um, sure."  It was out of his way, and his own search would have to wait, but he was eager to assist.  It seemed like the type of thing that David would gladly do, and for that reason alone Terrence would have agreed.  The fact that it was Lillith who asked him only tipped the scales even further.

As they weaved through the crowds—a little slower together than if Terrence had been doing it alone, given his small stature—he kept throwing sidelong glances in her direction.  "Um, I like your dress.  It's really… yellow."

Lillith gave him a confused smile and thanked him.  "It is, isn't it?"

He could have kicked himself.  'It's really yellow.'  What kind of comment was that?  Now she probably thought he was an idiot, or worse, just some dumb kid.  "I mean, it matches your hair."

The princess laughed and patted his head affectionately, a gesture that usually annoyed him when anyone other than David or his father did it, but for some reason it made him grin now.  But the smile disappeared quickly, and annoyance flitted across his face as he spotted Valor.  Who should happen to be with the prince, but his not-so-favorite brother.

Luke's back was to the approaching pair, but Terrence recognized the dark navy coat with the crimson trimming, and that incredibly pale blond hair, inherited from their father.  Actually, he had inherited all his coloring from Charmant, but while the king's green eyes were warm and filled with humor, Luke's tended to be sly and calculating.  Or at least, that was Terrence's opinion, though he thought it fairly accurate.

Terrence wasn't in the mood to trade insults with his brother, but he had agreed to take Lillith to Valor, and he wasn't about to abandon his job before it was finished.  So he marched up to the pair, a determined set to his features, and the princess at his side.

The two princes turned to greet them, and Terrence saw a sneer pass over Luke's face.  But before either brother could comment, Lillith turned to Valor and said, "I need to talk to you.  In private."

Valor groaned and a pained expression passed over his face.  "Great.  Talk about deja-vu."

TBC 


	15. A rival for the fair lady's hand

Kirjava ~ The déjà vu thing went back to Ch.12, when Vivienne told Val she wanted to talk to him.  She didn't use the exact same words, but they were similar, and, them being sisters and all, I figured it was enough to make Val worried.

Little Miss Dove ~ Don't ever apologize for a long review!  Those things make my day. ;-)

Chapter 15 

**Intersections:  "A rival for the fair lady's hand"**

Luke watched Valor disappear with Lillith, and could have laughed at the forlorn expression on the other prince's face.  Had he had the opportunity, Luke could have consoled the prince—could have, although he would not have, seeing as he found the whole situation amusing—with the knowledge that the younger daughter of Queen Ella was nothing like her sister.  If anything, he realized as he caught a glimpse of her face before the two turned away, the girl looked even more nervous about the conversation than did Valor.

When the two disappeared from sight, Luke glanced around the busy ballroom, his attention waning.  "This group's getting pretty boring," he muttered aloud.

"I thought you would like this," he heard a voice at his elbow and realized Terrence hadn't yet left.  A glass of some drink in his hand, the younger prince eyed him curiously.

Luke replied, "Why would you say that?"

Terrence shrugged, but the motion was constricted by his coat, and he ended up fiddling with the high collar in an attempt to loosen it.  "I don't know.  I just figured you'd want to be with all these important people… since you always seem to think you're so much better than everyone else.  Besides, there's so much more stuff to steal."

A slight frown creased the elder prince's brow.  Most of what Terrence said was true—he did think he was better than everyone else, and he should fit in at a place like this, but…

"There's too much to steal here.  I could only get my hands on so much, and hardly anyone would even notice.  And then what would be the point?"  He paused and looked about at the surrounding crowds.  "And these people… they're not all that important.  They like to think they are, and they like for others to think they are, so they dress up for the night in all their finery to show off.  But underneath, they're just nobodies with titles and kingdoms.  And some so obscure or tiny, it's hardly worth the effort," he added.

Terrence stared at him in disbelief.  "Gee, Luke, if these people don't impress you, who would?"

Luke grinned.  "Someone worthwhile, I guess."  He gave a dismissive shrug and after a moment's pause, changed the topic.  "So, you've found yourself a girlfriend, have you?"

His brother, who was in the middle of a sip, choked and sputtered, sending out a spray of the reddish liquid.  Nearby party-goers sent curious glances in the pair's direction, before their attention wandered to more interesting things.  Luke merely grimaced and reached for a napkin to wipe the mess off his coat, dabbing at the material to keep the damage from spreading.  Ah well, his own fault, he supposed.

After Terrence had finally managed to gain some semblance of control, he sent out a horrified look.  "What?" he squeaked, his already prepubescent voice raised a few more octaves.

"You.  Lillith.  Have you grasped it yet, or must I draw you a picture?" Luke drawled.

"Lilly's not my girlfriend!"  The younger boy's face burned a bright red.  At ten, he had yet to pass completely from the 'girls are gross' stage in which he had spent the last few years of his life, although the transition had begun somewhat already.

"What's wrong, not your type?"  He managed to keep a serious, contemplative expression as he spoke.  "Or maybe she's just not attractive enough?"

Defensively, Terrence declared, "Hey, she's plenty pretty!"  His blush deepened, and he stammered on.  "I mean… she's too old.  She's like your age."

Luke nodded agreeably.  "She is, isn't she?"  Then, smiling innocently, looking as if the idea had just come to him—and it had, but its intent was much different than he let on—he suggested, "Well, maybe I should go for her."

An expression of utter shock appeared on his brother's face, and inwardly Luke delighted at the reaction.  "You… you can't do that!" he stammered, a wild look in his blue eyes.

"Why not?" Luke replied gazing at his nails idly, his own expression a polar opposite to Terrence's.  "You said you weren't interested."

"But… but."  After a moment, it became obvious he was getting nowhere in that approach, so he switched tactics.  "You can try, but she'll never go for you.  You're a complete jerk and everyone knows it," he finished, smiling in satisfaction.

"You think so?" Luke returned, his own grin sparking mischievously, his expression causing his brother's confidence to waver.  "She doesn't really know me, and I haven't done anything even vaguely cruel or malicious in front of her.  And," he said, voice lowering to a whisper as he leaned forward, grin expanding into a full-blown smile.  "I can be pretty charming if I try."

Terrence peered back at him, eyes widened in horror, and Luke fought the urge to break into maniacal laughter.  That was a little too cliché for his tastes.  But, this was going to be fun.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It just so happened at that very instant David and Virtue were passing by, a short distance away.  David had taken his arm off her shoulders upon reentering the ballroom, but the pair still walked very closely together.  Virtue felt him tense inexplicably at her side, and as she turned to ask him what was wrong, his gaze was turned away.  Following the direction of his eyes, Virtue found herself watching a very cheerful looking Luke and a not so cheerful Terrence.

"Why's he grinning like an idiot?"

Virtue looked at David in surprise, before saying tentatively, "You really don't like him, do you?"

"What?"  He glanced back at her, gray eyes indicating he'd been caught off guard.  He must not have even realized he had made the comment aloud.  David shook his head.  "It's not that I don't like him…" pausing, he sighed softly.  "I don't dislike Luke, no matter how much he seems to hate me," he cut off the protest Virtue had been about to make with a slight shake of his head.  "No, I'm not saying he actually hates me, just that he prefers to make it seem like he does.  But despite that, I try to get along with him.  He just loves to make it so difficult."  He sighed again, glancing back at the other prince with solemn eyes.  "He knows I'm supposed to be the responsible one, the one who makes sure everything's going right, so he's taken it upon himself to be the one who makes sure that everything _doesn't_ go right.  And so I have to go around trying to stop him from doing whatever he's planning to do _before_ he does it."

Virtue looked at him sympathetically, suddenly very grateful she had only one sibling, and that the two had fairly good relationship.  "Have you ever just tried beating him up?"

David gazed at her a moment, and seeing that she was speaking seriously, he burst into laughter.  Virtue watched him, a slight smile on her face though she wasn't sure what he found so amusing.  After a while he replied, "As tempting as the might be at times, I couldn't do that."

"Why not?" she asked simply.

"Because, if I were to beat up on Luke, what would stop him from doing the same to Terry?  And then what would stop Terry from turning around and taking it out on Becca?"

She frowned, taking in his words.  Well, she supposed, she couldn't really contest his words.  "You know what?" she said, leaning in against him.  He gazed down at her questioningly and she continued, "You think too much."

David grinned in return.  "I have to pick up the slack for everyone around me," he teased.

She was just about to return his remark with a playful punch, but a sudden clearing of a throat turned the pair's attention from each other.  Turning, Virtue found herself staring back at a young man, maybe her own age, dressed in all the finery befitting a prince.  His sandy hair was short and neatly styled, his manner impeccable, and when he spoke, he did so with practiced poise.  "Princess Virtue, might I perhaps have the honor of this next dance?"

Virtue glanced from the stranger to David, who held his face in a perfectly neutral expression, and back to the stranger.  "I'm sorry," she replied hospitably, "I'm afraid, I'm not much for dancing."  Grabbing David's hand, she tried to skirt around the prince, but he moved to block her path.

"Nonsense!" the prince declared haughtily.  "What sort of princess doesn't dance?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and unconsciously her grip tightened on David's hand.  "The sort of princess that just turned you down," she returned.

Still, he persisted, his ego unfazed by the rejection.  "Perhaps you would reconsider if you knew who you were dealing with."

At this point David decided to enter the conversation, moving forward to stand right beside Virtue.  Coolly, he asked, "And whom might she be dealing with?"

The stranger pulled himself up proudly, his very demeanor making Virtue want to gag, but she managed to keep the reaction to herself.  Maybe it was better to let David deal with this.  Giving a black eye to one of her own guests would not be a very hospitable move, and it certainly would not earn her parents' favor.  "Prince Orwell, eldest son of King Nicholas and Queen Cecilia," he replied arrogantly.

"Queen Cecilia, Queen Cecilia," David murmured thoughtfully.  The name did sound familiar even to Virtue, though she could not place it.  Suddenly, recognition sparked in David's eyes.  "Oh yes!  Didn't she promise away her firstborn to that little magical troll… what was his name?"

Realization hit Virtue as well.  "Rumpledpantsuit?" she offered helpfully, managing a straight face.

"Rumpelstiltskin," Prince Orwell corrected, annoyance flaring briefly in his expression.  "And mother had no intention of handing her child over to that odious creature."

"Oh, so you're saying that she was lying?" David asked innocently.

Virtue shook her head admonishingly.  "Now, that doesn't seem like a very honorable thing to do."

Orwell glared at the pair angrily.  "Mother had no choice.  If the straw had not been spun into gold by the morning, father was going to have her executed."

"Executed for not spinning straw into gold?  Doesn't sound like a reasonable man, this father of yours," David demurred.

"No, and not a very good start to their relationship," Virtue added.  "You really shouldn't begin these sorts of things by threatening death."

Orwell's face had begun to flush an unflattering pink.  "How dare you speak to me so?  I am a prince of fairytale heritage!" he exclaimed.  "I don't have to take this sort of ridicule from anyone!"

Her own ire rising, Virtue stepped forward.  "Listen, your highness," she hissed, her tone acidic as she spoke the title.  "I don't care if—" But before she could finish the sentence, she felt David's hand on her arm, pulling her back.

"You'll have to excuse the princess," David cut in.  "Patience is not one of her… virtues.  But before her temper gets entirely out of hand, and I can do nothing to save you from the embarrassment of being beaten up by a girl in front of all these people—" he waved an expansive hand around the room— "Perhaps you should take your leave."

Prince Orwell, mistaking the new fire in Virtue's eyes for anger toward him, swallowed thickly and hesitated a fraction of a second before turning and scurrying away.  As soon as he was out of sight, Virtue turned and punched David in the arm.

No longer able to hold back the laughter, David sputtered out a not so innocent, "What?" as he ducked away from another blow.

"Do not make fun of my name!" Virtue huffed, her fists drawn tightly at her sides.

"Did I make fun of your name?" he asked, still grinning widely.  "I don't recall doing so… I merely used a common word, one meaning an asset or desirable quality."

The princess continued to watch him through narrowed eyes, though some of the anger had dissipated.  "If you meant 'an asset or desirable quality,' why didn't you use those words?"

David shrugged unapologetically.  "Virtue just sounds so much more elegant, don't you think?"

Virtue shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.   A small smile played around her lips as she studied him.

"What?"

The smile widened.  "I was just thinking how I was wrong about you."

"Wrong, how?" he asked, confused.

"You do have a sense of humor after all."

"Hmm, yes," he nodded, his serious expression returned.  "As a matter of fact, it is one of my… virtues."  This time, he caught the fist that came barreling toward him, before it made contact.  Taking the hand in his grasp, he brought it up to his lips, gently brushing them against her knuckles.  "In all seriousness, though, Virtue is a beautiful name," and with a grin, he added, "For an equally beautiful woman."

Virtue felt her cheeks warm slightly and glanced away.  "Well, you're forgiven.  But you better be careful, or I just might take Prince Arwen up on his offer," she teased.

"Arwell," David corrected, dropping her hand and pulling her to his side as, arm in arm, they continued on the path they had been taking before their interruption.

"Or was it Orwen?" she returned.

"Perhaps Aldwell?"

"Hmm, or wasn't it Rumpelstiltskin?"

"No, I believe that was his mother's name."

TBC


	16. Just a little bit of understanding

**A/N:**  And now, time for the long, rambling author's notes.

First of all, I hit 100!  ::wipes away a tear::  Thank you everyone who has reviewed so far.  If it weren't for your guys, this story wouldn't even be here.

Okay, I've been expecting this question for a while now, and now it's been asked:  How long is this story going to be?  To Jenny, and anyone else wondering the same thing, I can't really give you a concrete answer at this point.  What I can say is that I originally planned to split the story into two parts (you'll see why when we get to the beginning of the second part).  Whether part 2 will be as long as part 1, shorter, or even longer, I don't know right now.  But I will tell you when we get to the end of part 1 (I'm thinking about 3 more chapters… and I promise, by the end of it, the parents' plan will have unfolded).

As for romance, who's going to end up with who, and who's going to end up with no one… well, I've already written a detailed outline of the ending, so I've kind of figured it all out.  Of course, it might change if the story seems to naturally go another way, so you can always try to sway me with your opinions.

Short review, long review, medium-rare review, with one side lightly sautéed… your choice.  Just leave one, please.  I always take the readers' opinions/suggestions into account.

Oh, one last thing…  Luke is… well, Luke.  Don't get angry at me for anything he might do, because I was very up front about his personality from the beginning.  Besides, I thought you all liked him this way?

**Chapter 16**

**Intersections:  "Just a little bit of understanding"**

Valor led the way again, as he and Lillith sought out a quiet place for their "conversation," but this time he didn't head for a terrace.  While he was a particularly superstitious individual, he had no desire to tempt fate.  Instead, he led them just beyond the massive double doors that served as the main entrance to the ballroom, where it was both quiet and private.  It was late enough that all the guests had already arrived, but too early still for anyone to be leaving, and thus the traffic in the entryway was at a minimum.

"Did your sister send you after me?" he asked with a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest as he turned to face her.

Lillith fidgeted with a bit of lacy embroidery on her dress.  "No, she doesn't know I'm talking to you."

Valor's brow furrowed as he took in her answer.  "Did she tell you what… happened earlier?"

The girl nodded, her hazel eyes flicking momentarily to his, and then away.  "Kind of," she replied uncomfortably.  "I mean, she didn't say so much what happened, but that she was angry with how you were acting."

"And?"  He studied her closely, trying to figure out what she had in mind, but it was hard to do when she kept twitching nervously, and her gaze seemed to refuse to meet his.  She didn't appear angry with him for his earlier run-in with Vivienne, so what in the world was her problem?

"Well, she, um, decided to air her grievances… in front of me, Vir, and David," she answered, and Valor nodded in understanding.  Another one of her now-infamous temper tantrums.  "And your sister didn't appreciate all the comments she made…"

He raised his eyebrows in surprise.  Well, it wasn't so surprising that Virtue had stood up for him, because despite their occasional differences, they had a fairly good relationship, and no doubt he would have done the same for her.  But a confrontation between his sister and Vivienne?  If there had been any bloodshed, he was sure he would have heard about it already, so obviously whatever had transpired had somehow managed to go unnoticed by the great gaggle of gossips that were occupying the ballroom at this very moment.

"What did Vir do?"

Startled, Lillith shook her head, meeting his eyes.  "Nothing.  I mean she didn't _do_ anything… she just said some things—perfectly justifiable comments, really—then she stormed off, and then Viv stormed off… David went after Vir, and I went after Vivienne, and then me and Viv had this talk, and—"

Valor cut her off, seeing that if she didn't get a breath of air soon, she would probably pass out.  She didn't talk much, but it seemed that once she got started, she had a hard time deciding when to stop.  "What does any of this have to do with me?" he asked.

"Well, um," she looked away, appearing very uncomfortable once more.  She fidgeted relentlessly, a seeming ball of nervous energy.  "We talked about you."

Oh great, here it came.  Of course, after talking about him, they had probably both come to the conclusion that he was the horrible jerk responsible for the entire mess that had resulted from their parents' attempts to arrange the marriage—which, by the way, was very poorly planned, from King Charming and Queen Ella's perspective, if you asked him—and now she was coming to give him a piece of her mind.  A mind that undoubtedly, she shared with her sister.

Lillith took a deep breath and blurted the rest out.  "Basically, she realizes that she was wrong and she's sorry."

For a second Valor did nothing but stare at her.  Then he blinked.  Then he blinked again.  Surely, he must have misheard.  "What?"

"She's wrong.  She's sorry.  She feels really bad."

He took a moment to digest the information, mulling the thought over in his head.  She was actually apologizing?  No, wait… she wasn't.

"If that's true, then why isn't _she_ here, telling me that?  Why are you doing it instead?"

"Because," Lillith replied with a roll of her eyes, appearing as if she were talking to a particularly slow child and her patience had just run out.  "This is Vivienne we're talking about.  It's hard enough for her to admit that she isn't right, let alone to come right out and apologize to someone face-to-face."

Valor rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his gaze drifting over her head.  Finally, he asked, "And what do you want me to do with this knowledge?  If she's not ready to apologize, even when she know she's wrong, what difference does any of this make?"

"Well, now that you know how she really feels, you can go talk to her," she ventured tentatively.

"Oh no," he shot back with a shake of his head.  "There is no way in hell you're going to convince me to go and face her willingly… especially not after the disastrous consequences of all our previous encounters.  I mean, we haven't said a single civil word to each other since we met!"

"You got off on the wrong foot, but you can still work things out," Lillith eagerly persisted.

"Work what out?  You and I both know this whole marriage isn't going to happen, no matter what we say to each other now.  As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing to work out."

Her hazel eyes blazed momentarily with irritation.  "Just because you won't be getting married, it doesn't mean that you can't develop a relationship that goes beyond stepping all over each other's feet.  If you part on these conditions, you'll probably end up hating each other.  And you'll hate each other for the rest of your lives… which normally wouldn't make much of a difference, but if you don't remember, you both happen to be royalty.  Which means that you will rule kingdoms, and that requires politics and forming alliances and all that stuff about diplomacy.  Just think of all the practical consequences!"

She stopped to take a deep, calming breath.  When she spoke again, her voice was quieter.  "Look, you have to see this from Viv's point of view.  You may have been coerced into accepting this marriage by your parents, but she wasn't much better off."  She paused again, glancing at him to make sure he was genuinely listening.  "For the longest time, as far back as I can remember, Viv's always wanted to practice magic.  Of course, mother didn't think it was appropriate, considering her position and all, but that still didn't stop Vivienne from trying.  She picked up what she could, over the years, from scrolls and books, visiting mages, but there was only so much that she could handle.  To learn magic, to really learn it, you have to enter an apprenticeship, or at least find a mentor to guide you through it.  So Vivienne decided to apply to the Academy."

"_The_ Academy?" Valor interrupted.

Lillith nodded.  "And she was accepted too."

Valor was clearly impressed.  The Academy, or rather, the Alcane Academy of Magical Practices, was the most renowned learning institute in all the lands, one which potential practitioners of sorcery from all around came to learn the arts.  Named for the Alcane territory in which it was located, the school was established some thirteen-odd hundred years earlier, and was the most elite and most difficult one to get into.  That Vivienne had managed to get in spoke greatly of her skill.

"Well, the program Viv applied for lasts for a year at minimum, and during this time she would have to live at the school.  But mother absolutely refused to let her go.  Of course, without her parents support, she could never enroll.  First, she wouldn't be able to pay her tuition, and second, when it comes to royalty, the school has strict policy that requires parental consent.  It goes back to some incident a few hundred years ago when some runaway prince managed to get together enough money to pay his way through, and then when he was done, he went to war with his own kingdom, which had gone to his brother… anyway, it's a long story.  And this was all about the time that the issue of marriage came up."

Realization was beginning to dawn on the prince, and he now had some idea of what must have happened between Vivienne and her parents.  He waited for Lillith to continue.

"Vivienne refused to hear of it, just as mom refused to hear of her going to the Academy, and they reached a stalemate.  Finally, the decided that Vivienne would give the idea of marriage a chance if mother would reconsider her decision regarding the school."

"But?" Valor asked, because he could sense one coming up.

"But, it turns out that mother really had no intention of changing her mind, and the whole agreement was just a ploy to get Viv down here to meet you.  I guess she already knew that you were willing to go through with it, and the rest… well, I don't know what she was thinking about that."  Lillith shrugged.  "Maybe she genuinely thought you two might hit it off."

Valor snorted.  "She couldn't have been more wrong about that."  Then he sighed, raking a hand through his black hair.  "Okay, so you've told me your sister's side of the story, and I can understand why she's been acting the way she has, but I still don't see how this is going to resolve anything."

Lillith looked back at him beseechingly.  "I think if you could just have one reasonable conversation where you might be able to see eye to eye, then you could finally put all these things behind you.  Really, if you think about it, if you had met under different circumstances, don't you think you might have hit it off?  Or at least felt something other than the pure, intense hatred you've been displaying for the past few days?"

Still Valor resisted stubbornly.  In another couple of days, Queen Ella's family would be returning home, and he could simply tell his parents that he had tried to win over Vivienne, to no avail.  It was the truth, and no one could deny it.  Then he would never have to think upon the whole mess ever again.

But Lillith broke into his thoughts with her soft voice.  "Please, Val?"

And that was what did him in.  Usually, no one called him Val except his sister, and he could rarely refuse any request made by Virtue… or by virtually any female in general.  It was no different this time with the princess before him.

"Oh, all right," he agreed begrudgingly, dropping his head in defeat.

That was why he was caught off guard when she suddenly leapt forward and wrapped her arms around her neck, squealing a very delighted, "Thank you."  Then she stepped back abruptly, blushing mildly at her own display.  "She's in the garden, taking a walk."

He nodded and began to make his way outside, before he stopped in mid-stride and turned to look at her.  "What am I supposed to do again?"

"Just talk to her.  And don't get into an argument.  If you give her a chance—and don't be too obvious about it—she'll apologize… probably."

Probably.  Right, he decided, probability was a risky thing when it came to someone like Vivienne.  But he had agreed to do this, and he didn't have the heart to tell Lillith he had changed his mind.  So he took a deep, strengthening breath and continued on, like a brave man on his way to meet his end.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When she saw Valor disappear into the darkness of the night and he didn't reappear a moment later, retracting his agreement, Lillith decided it was safe to return to the party.  For a moment she stood just inside the entrance, unsure of where to go.  Then she realized that Luke was probably still waiting for her to return with Valor.  She would seek him out and let him know that Valor wouldn't be returning for a while.

She was surprised to find Terrence standing by his brother still when she approached the pair.  Considering the animosity between the two, she was sure he would have left at first opportunity.  As she drew closer though, she felt a strange sense of foreboding at the strained expression on the younger brother's face.

Glancing up, Luke smiled as he spotted her.  She slowed her steps and eyed him warily, consumed by the uncanny sensation that she was entering the lion's den.

Then Luke looked at her curiously, noticing that she was returning alone.  "Where's Val?"

"He went to speak to Vivienne," Lillith answered cautiously.  She didn't want anything, or anyone, to ruin the frail bit of peace she hoped to create between the pair.  And though she didn't know Luke all that well, she had the feeling that if anyone were to do such a thing—whether intentionally or unintentionally—chances were, it would be Luke.

"Oh, then he'll probably be a while."  He glanced down then, catching sight of his brother who still stood with them, watching the conversation with strangely wide eyes, but saying nothing.  Then, abruptly, he looked back to Lillith and announced, "I think I'd like to get some air... take a walk outside."  He graced her with a wide, inviting smile.  "Would you like to join me?"

Lillith felt a moment's panic and responded without thinking.  "Outside?  No!"  Then, to the startled expression, she elaborated, "I mean, I would really rather stay in here.  It's getting a little chilly out there."

Luke gave her a strange look, then shrugged.  "Well, I'm going anyway.  I'm getting a little tired of this scene.  You can join me if you change your mind."

Watching him turn to leave, Lillith blurted out, "On second thought, I will go with you."

She ignored the strange glimmer that appeared in his eyes for a second, focusing on the task at hand.  All she had to do was make sure he stayed away from the garden until Valor and her sister had sorted out their differences, and then she could leave him to do as he pleased.  But a little voice in her head questioned how she would do that.  She hadn't a clue as to what they were supposed to talk about, and she still couldn't figure out why he had invited her along.

Her eyes fell on Terrence and for a second hope flared up.  "Why don't you come with us, Terry?" she asked.

The younger boy looked about to respond, but Luke quickly cut in.  "I don't think that would be a good idea," he said, sending a pointed look to his brother.  "Besides, weren't you supposed to be looking for David?"

Terrence looked from one to the other, and after a moment, he nodded hesitantly.  "Yeah, I guess I should find him."  He gave the pair one last look, his blue eyes troubled, and then walked away.

Lillith turned back to Luke to ask him what that was about, but he grinned and looped his arm under hers, pulling her along to the doors through which she had just come minutes earlier.  "Just you and me now," he declared.  His words, along with the expression on his face, sent an inexplicable chill up her spine.

TBC


	17. I hear the garden is lovely at night

**A/N:**  Now, time for some more author's notes… you know, if I took all the A/N from all the chapters and put them together, I bet I could make up a whole mini story.  Just a thought.

I have to admit all the speculations make for interesting readings.  I love to see how everyone thinks things will work out… but I'm not saying anything about who's right, or who's close.  But I did realize something.  I guess I never clearly stated the ages of all the characters, so I suppose I should do that to clear the air:  Valor (20), Virtue (16), Vivienne (18), Lillith (15), David (17), Luke (15), Terrence (10), Rebecca (5).  So you see, that throws some of the theories off (e.g. Val + Lilly)… because the age gaps are too big.

I've been receiving some mixed reviews about Vivienne… Lea, you said she was still bratty—"bratty" or "too bratty"?  Yes, I'm making a distinction between the two.  I'm perfectly fine with her being bratty, so long as she's not _too_ bratty.  She's still a princess, and considering who her mother is, and what _she's_ like, I think it's perfectly conceivable that Vivienne would be a little spoiled and self-centered.  If she weren't… well, **that** would make her the typical fairytale heroine:  "… she was as kind as she was beautiful."  As you may have noticed, all the characters have some faults or points of weakness.

And Luke… what can I say about Luke?  Well, perhaps that right now, he's at a point in his life where I don't think he's capable of loving anyone but himself.  The question is then, will he change?  I ain't telling!

At this point, the time frame may get a little confusing.  Basically, the scenes from the next two chapters are actually taking place at about the same time; we're just shifting between the various groups.

**Chapter 17**

**Intersections:  "I hear the garden is lovely at night"**

"David," Rose approached her eldest son, with her two youngest in tow.  "Oh, hello Virtue," she smiled pleasantly as she spotted the princess, and then she turned back to David.  "David, I need you to do me a favor."

A sleepy Rebecca rubbed her eyes with one balled fist, while the other hand clutched at her mother's extended one.  Her pink dress looked a little worse for the wear, rumpled from the night's activities.  Behind them trailed Terrence, shuffling his feet, an unhappy expression on his face.

"What do you need, mother?" David asked, eyeing the trio.

"I'm afraid that Becca has to call it a night, could you please take her to her room?"  Rebecca released her mother's hand and drifted forward to David, arms outstretched.  David reached down and picked her up, and she immediately placed her head on his shoulder, eyes fluttering closed.  "And you could take Terry as well?" Rose continued.  "You might as well put them both to bed."

"Sure, I'll take care of it," he replied, and his mother gave him a relieved smile.

"Well, good night, you two," she brushed a kiss against Rebecca's forehead, but when she moved to do the same to Terrence, he merely shrugged away.  Rose shrugged, unperturbed.  She'd had to deal with two other sons before him, and knew there was a stage in every boy's life where being kissed by his mother in public was no longer acceptable.

"'Night mommy," Rebecca murmured without opening her eyes.

"I'll go with you," Virtue volunteered, leading the group to the nearest door that would take them to one of the castle's many corridors.

They were nearly out of the ballroom, when abruptly, Rebecca lifted her head, just narrowly missing David's chin, and only because he saw the move coming and instinctually tilted his face away.  "I have t'say goodnight to Luke… and Vivi."

David let out a mental groan.  "I'm sure they won't mind if you missed it this one time," he assured her.

"No," Rebecca replied stubbornly, suddenly looking quite wide-awake.  "I have to say goodnight."  Their gazes locked and they engaged in a brief battle of wills.  Rebecca's face tilted closer and closer until the pair's noses touched.

"All right, fine," David conceded, rolling his eyes while barely containing a threatening grin.  "We'll say a quick goodnight, and then you're off to bed."

"Okay," the little blond girl agreed happily.

"So, where are they?" Virtue broke in, giving a cursory glance over the ballroom.

"I don't know, I haven't seen either in a while," David replied.

Terrence, who had remained quiet, obviously discontented by something, spoke up.  "Outside."

David glanced down at his brother.  "Both of them?"

Terrence nodded glumly.  "Vivienne's with Val, and Luke's with Lilly."

David and Virtue exchanged a look.  Vivienne and Valor together, well that must have been arranged by Lillith.  But what was she doing with Luke?  Finally, David gave a shrug.  "Well, I guess we're going outside."  He snuck a quick look at Rebecca.  "Are you sure I can't convince you to just skip them tonight?"  She shook her head adamantly.

"This way," Virtue directed, taking them along an alternate path, a hallway just outside the ballroom, that remained unused by the guests.  After a full night spent within, the crowds were becoming a bit oppressive for them all.

The corridor was darker than usual, the torches lining the walls left neglected during the night's revelry.  But Virtue knew the place well, and could probably have led them along blindfolded, so David was unconcerned.

Suddenly, Terrence let out a yelp as he collided into a moving body, and a high-pitched scream echoed through the hallway.  The scream seemed to disturb him even more than the unexpected contact, and he leapt behind the safety of Virtue's skirts.

Virtue took a defensive stance as she peered into the darkness beyond before her eyes focused on the startled figure clinging to the far wall.  "Oh," she let out the word with the visible relaxing of her body, though David noted, the tone was a mixture of relief and disappointment.

They waited and watched as the figure collected itself and moved forward, where there was at least a feeble amount of light in the hallway.  By the elaborate dress, jewelry and hairstyle, it was clear the girl before them was a guest at the ball.  "I… I didn't expect anyone else to be here," she finally said, her breathing still harsh from the shock.

"Then why exactly are you here?" Virtue asked a little suspiciously.

"Oh, I was just trying to get outside, and I thought I'd avoid the crowds," the young woman quickly explained.  "I guess I just got a little… lost."

"We were going outside too," Rebecca declared helpfully.  "You can come with us."

The girl gave a weak smile.  "That sounds wonderful," she replied.

As they continued walking, the newcomer took up position next to Virtue, at the head of the group.  Virtue sent her a sidelong glance.  "You know, you look familiar, but I'm afraid I don't quite remember your name."

"Princess Nora," the girl replied, but offered no further comment.  By David's assessment, either she wasn't a very talkative individual, or she just didn't have anything to say to them in particular.  And he got the feeling it wasn't the former.  In fact, she seemed to want to get away from them as was possible, if her brisk pace were any indication of her thoughts.

Virtue's mental shrug was almost palpable, and she didn't try to engage Nora in any further conversation as they finally walked through a door that led them into the cool night air.

David turned to his brother.  "Do you have any idea where out here either of them might be?"  Terrence shrugged.

"Well, we should probably try the garden," Virtue suggested.  "One of them is bound to have wandered in there."

Suddenly, Nora's interest seemed piqued.  "Oh, I was just on my way to the garden.  I think I'll join you."

Virtue sent an annoyed look in her direction, but the other girl's gaze was turned away.  "Why don't you…" she paused, catching David's apprehensive look.  "Do that," she finished, obviously not what she'd originally intended to say, but it would have to do.

The garden, which both David and Rebecca had noticed the day of their arrival, was massive, but it seemed even more so at night.  Thus finding someone "in the garden" was a lot easier said than done.

"You know," David remarked wryly, "I've seen forests smaller—"  He cut off sharply.

"What?" Virtue asked, pausing in mid-stride to look at him.

For several moments, he remained still and utterly silent, head cocked slightly to one side, ears straining to catch whatever it was that had drawn his attention.  Finally, he spoke, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Nora asked, glancing about in puzzlement.

Another pause.  "That!" he suddenly declared.  But this time, they had all heard it, even Rebecca, who was no longer quite as sleepy as she had at the onset of this little trip.

"Vivienne!"  It was unmistakable, that was the name being called.  And so was the desperate edge to the voice calling it.  "Vivienne!"

"Is that…?" David began.

Virtue frowned, confirming his thoughts.  "Val?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They'd been outside a few minutes now and Luke had managed to get next to no conversation out of Lillith.  He was starting to get a little worried.  Wasn't a night stroll supposed to be every girl's idea of "romantic"?  What more could she want?  He contemplated this silently for a moment before an idea came to mind.

"Let's go to the garden.  I would think it'd be especially beautiful at this time of night."  Now that was perfection.  And look, the moon was out at full.  A moonlit walk through a garden… she'd be putty in his hands in no time.

"No."

He frowned.  "No?  You don't think it'd look beautiful?"

There wasn't light enough to tell, but he got the impression that she blushed a little, stumbling over her words as she attempted to clarify.  "Oh, I'm sure it would.  What I meant was, I'd rather stay away from the garden.  I'm, um, allergic… to flowers."

"Which kind?  Maybe we could just stay away from those."

"All of them."

Luke gave her a sidelong look.  "You are a strange one, aren't you?"

She seemed to blush again.  "What?  I can't help what I'm allergic to," she defended.

"Fine," he conceded with a nonchalant shrug.

There was a long moment of silence as they continued to walk along a cobble path that surrounded the perimeter of the castle, before Lillith finally spoke.  "So," she said, clearing her throat.  "Are you ready to go in now?"

Luke frowned again, disturbed by her eagerness to get away from him.  "You seem to be in an awful hurry to get back to the ball.  And you've been acting strangely ever since I suggested coming out here.  What's wrong?"  Then he turned to her, his face deliberately innocent.  "Don't you trust me?"

Lillith looked like she was about to answer, then something stopped her.  Probably, Luke thought, the expression on his face.  Right now, he could have been deemed the new poster boy of sensitivity, peering back at her with what he hoped could be termed a "soulful" look in his green eyes.  Instead, she said, "Alright.  I guess we can stay out here a little while longer."

~*~*~*~

Lillith watched him carefully, looking for any sign of an underlying motive beyond the pleasant exterior.  She hadn't known Luke long, but trust was not a word she would associate with him.  Rather than outright answer his earlier question, she had simply deferred to his wishes, because truth be told, she didn't trust him.  Yet, because she didn't really know him, she was basing her opinions off his siblings' reactions, she felt guilty for jumping to conclusions.  For all she knew, it could be simple sibling rivalry that put him at such odds with his brothers, and he could really be a good guy.

She snuck a glance in his direction and found him struggling with the collar of his coat, trying and obviously failing to loosen it.  The action reminded her so much of Terrence that she couldn't help but smile.

"Here," she said, reaching forward to help him before he ripped a button, or worse.

"Thanks," he replied as she undid a couple of the top buttons, which had been cleverly designed so they were perfectly concealed when done up, but inordinately difficult to open afterward.

Lillith found herself smiling back, some of the earlier tension receding as she stared into the unusually open expression, and the slightly self-deprecating grin.

Then suddenly, he reached up, one hand coming to cover hers, which was still resting at his collar, and the other on the back of her head.  Without warning, he pulled her forward and kissed her.

Her eyes widened slightly before she closed them because, well, his were closed and it seemed rude not to.  'I can't believe this is happening,' she thought in the maddening whirlwind of her mind.  'My first kiss.'

~*~*~*~

When Luke first moved in for the kiss, he had surprised himself.  He had done so spontaneously, without thought, but when he pulled back and saw the expression on her face, the look in her brown eyes when they drifted open, he got a strange feeling… guilt?

He wasn't looking for anything serious, not with Lillith, or anybody else.  The whole point of the game was to annoy Terrence and amuse himself, but he wasn't used to seeing such open vulnerability in the faces of those he tormented.  Fear, anger, annoyance, yes.  Not vulnerability.

And now he had just worked himself into a trap of his own making.  She would obviously think he was interested in her, and the easiest way to disentangle himself from the situation would be to tell her the truth.  But even to his warped sense of conscious, that did not seem to be an acceptable option.

Or… he could pretend that he was interested, and when it came time to go back home in a couple of days, he'd just tell her, "Hey it was nice, but these long-distance things just don't tend to work out."

Perfect.

But then why was that strange gnawing feeling in the center of his stomach still there?

He blinked rapidly a few times, realizing that Lillith was still staring at him.

"What was that for?" she asked timidly.

Luke let out a shaky breath a nervous laugh.  "Um, just seemed like the right thing to do at the time," he replied.  How wrong he was, he thought regretfully.

No, he _did not_ feel regret.  That was his way.  He did what as he pleased, walked over whoever got in the way, and didn't think twice about the consequences of his action.

He dropped his hands suddenly, realizing that they were still where he'd placed them earlier.  He was going to nip this thing in the bud, right now, before he dug himself in any deeper.  Who cared if Lillith got a little hurt in the process?  She didn't mean anything to him… she wasn't even his type.

"Listen," he began, but was cut short as a new voice drew their attention away.

"Vivienne!"

Luke frowned at the interruption.  The voice was familiar, and there was only one person he could think would be bellowing the princess' name out here at this time.

"Oh great, what now?" Lillith sighed in frustration.

"Vivienne!"  Was it just Luke's imagination, or was there a touch of panic to that voice?

The weary look on Lillith's face was quickly replaced by one of apprehension.  "Come on," she said, turning.

"Where?"

"To the garden."

"I thought you said you were allergic."

He got a mumbled reply that sounded vaguely like, "I lied."

"What?"

"Um, I said 'I'll survive.'"

"Okay."  He followed her quickly, both relieved and annoyed by the distraction.  Well, as soon as they got a moment alone—after dealing with this—they were going to have a little conversation.  The sooner he got the truth out, the less painful it would be for her.  Right?

Luke let out a small sigh.

Damn.  If this was guilt he suddenly knew why he spent all his time avoiding it.

TBC

**A/N: ** I made this chapter extra long, just in case I don't get around to updating next weekend.  I have three research papers, a presentation, and a book review to do over the next month, not to mention two more midterms next week.  Needless to say, I'm a little short on time these days.


	18. A little burst of magic

**A/N:**  I know I said I probably wouldn't have a new chapter this weekend, and well, I'm don't.  It's not the weekend yet!  Anyway, I finished one of my exams early and I had time to kill, so I started writing.  Then, of course, I kept writing until I had finally churned out a whole chapter.  So here I am, uploading to satisfy everyone's curiosity.  But I swear, there will be no more chapters after this… until at least a week and half from now.  I'm going to move into my school library from Thursday to Monday so that I can finish off all my research for my various papers.  There isn't much security and I have seven floors in which to hide, so they'll never find me in time to kick me out!

Thank you Little Miss Dove for that wonderfully long and detailed review.  And guess what?  You just made this my most reviewed story!  ::Gets up and does a little happy jig::

As for cliffhangers… actually, I've been pretty conservative so far.  Usually I love to end at a point that makes everyone yell at me, threaten me, throw things at me, etc.  I've only done it a couple of times with this story.  Wait until the action really starts going… you'll hate me then.

**Chapter 18**

**Intersections:  "A little burst of magic"**

Valor stomped along the cobbled path, in his frustration muttering obscenities under his breath.  How long had he been out here?  Fifteen, twenty minutes, maybe even half an hour?  And no sign of Vivienne in all that time.

Well, partially, he supposed, it was his own fault.  When Lillith told him her sister was "in the garden," he should have asked for specifics.  The garden was huge.  He even managed to get lost on a couple of occasions before he wandered back to the safe path, which, if he followed it, guaranteed to lead him to an exit eventually.

Perhaps it was strange that he could have lived here his whole life and not had a better concept of the garden's intricate design… but he was a prince, for god's sake!  Was he supposed to spend his time sniffing flowers and writing poetry beneath the shade of some weeping willow?  He could think of better things to do with his time than that.  Better things to do with his time than one spoiled princess.  Even if he was starting to see things from her point of view.

He sighed and turned a sharp left as he approached a fork in the path.

Maybe this was just a setup.  A little conspiracy between the two sisters, to make him waste the rest of his night out here, looking like a fool.  They were probably in the ballroom, at this very instant laughing at his stupidity.

Okay, now he was being paranoid.  Besides, even if he didn't think it beyond Vivienne, he doubted Lillith would go along with such a plan.  You know, if Vivienne were more like her sister, then maybe things wouldn't have gone so badly between them at the beginning.  Of course, if she were like her sister, he would probably also been bored out of his mind.  She was a nice kid, really, but not the type of person he thought he could spend the rest of his life with, even if that were the only way secure his place as heir to the throne.

As he approached a little pond, he noticed an empty bench and left the path, making his way toward it.  He plopped onto the wooden surface with a hefty sigh, burrowing a little deeper into his coat as the cool night air was finally felt.

He had agreed to speak to Vivienne, but if she was nowhere to be found, what could he do?  When he saw Lillith, he would explain it to her and she would understand.  She could hardly blame him for her sister's elusiveness.

Valor stretched out his legs before him and paused as his foot scuffed against something more than just grass.  Curious, he leaned forward, running his fingers along the ground until they enclosed around something… metal.

Lifting it easily, he brought it up into the open, where there was enough moonlight for a closer inspection.  It was a bracelet, a gold bracelet.  Lovely too, with an intricate design and tiny golden leaves hanging at intervals.  He frowned.  Well, someone had to have been out here just before him.  If it had been left before dark, certainly one of the servants would have found it.

He pulled it up closer, and the light caught one of the leaves, revealing what looked like a 'V.'

A 'V'?

With a certain amount of insight, he moved to the next leaf, examining it in detail.  An 'I.'

Then the next and the next, until he had examined all of the remaining eight leaves:  V-I-E-N-N-E.

Vivienne.

Valor groaned and rolled his eyes up to the dark sky.  "Oh really, Vivienne, your mother will be so disappointed," he called out loudly, sarcasm dripping off his words.  "It's supposed to be a glass slipper, not a bracelet."

There was no reply, but he hadn't expected one.  What was she trying to pull anyway?  With a sigh he lifted himself from the bench and looked at the bracelet again.  He _really_ wasn't in the mood for this.

He twirled the bracelet in his hand, wondering what to do.  Suddenly, he stopped, noticing a slight stain of red across his palm.  Funny, he didn't remember cutting himself, nor was there any sharp, stinging sensation to indicate an injury.  He rubbed away the blood and saw only smooth skin beneath.  That could only mean one thing:  it wasn't his blood.

Drawing up the piece of jewelry once more, he noticed dark marks along the edges of some of the leaves, marks he had previously mistook for dirt.  He wiped a thumb along one of them, and came away with a smudge of red.

No big deal.  She could have just cut herself before she dropped it.  There was hardly much blood at all.  No need to jump to conclusions.  Right?

"Vivienne?"

The castle perimeters were well guarded, and it wasn't as if his family had any enemies.

But what if this wasn't about _his_ family?

"Vivienne!"

And the guards would have been a little more relaxed than usual from the ball.  They'd probably had a few drinks each by now, as they were inclined to do during any of these events.  Guards that never actually see any action tend to let themselves go over the years.

"Vivienne!"

Oh, this was not good.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Some time earlier… 

Vivienne shivered as she stared into the placid little pond.  Despite the extravagance of her dress, and the many folds that had been added at her mother's insistence, it wasn't very accommodating to the cool night air.  Maybe it was time to go back inside.

She took a deep breath and was just about to turn around when she felt a gust of air at her back, followed by a slight thump.  Hesitantly, she completed the movement, her eyes widening as she took in the sight before her.

A dragon.  A big, scaly, red dragon.  She was too amazed to be afraid.  She'd never seen a dragon before, even though she knew they existed, as they tended to be reclusive, solitary creatures.

It wasn't as big as she'd been led to believe dragons were.  Oh, no doubt about it, it was bigger than any other creature she'd seen before, but it wasn't the massive, towering hulk that was usually depicted in all those tapestries and paintings that adorned the walls of most castles.

It watched he through large, half-hooded eyes that gleamed like emeralds, a startling contrast from the surrounding sea of red.

"Well, let's go," it said after a moment, its voice an exquisite low rumble, each breath sending off tendrils of smoke from its nostrils.

Vivienne gaped.  "Excuse me?"

"Oh right, right," the dragon replied with a roll of its eyes.  "You probably want to make a scene, do some screaming, draw the guards' attention."  It shifted its weight from the front legs to the back, wings folding down to the sides of its body.

"What?" she asked incredulously.  She hadn't expected it to be friendly, but the dragon's opinion of her coping abilities was downright insulting.

"Look, I don't have all day.  Make some noise and let's get going.  I want to be far enough away when the archers arrive that I won't have to worry about picking arrows out of my rear while I'm trying to fly."

"Woah," Vivienne said, holding up a hand and shaking her coppery head.  "I don't know what this is all about, but I am not going anywhere with you."

"Finally," it replied, gathering itself up into a ready position.  "The drama begins."  It beckoned her over with a slight incline of its head.  "Come along now."  When she refused to budge, it let out a little sigh that sent an extra amount of gray smoke into the air.  "Fine, have it your way."

Its easy solution, since she would not go to it, was for it to come to her.  Vivienne drew a sharp breath as the creature plodded a few steps closer, but there was nowhere for her to go.  At her back was the pond, and if she moved either left or right, it would easily catch her.

"Now, this tends to be a bit harsh on the stomach the first few times, so I thought I'd use a little sleeping spell.  Just so I won't have to watch out for your lunch, which might decide to make a reappearance during our little trip."

Oh great.  She was being kidnapped.  A short distance beyond them was a ballroom full of royalty and nobility and dignitaries… but it had to be her who was being kidnapped.  And by a giant, delusional—and not to mention disturbingly considerate—dragon.

It looked at her.  "Really, if you let out a scream or two, it would be most effective."

"I am not going to scream," she shot back, refusing to admit that she had been considering doing just that.  "If I'm going to be kidnapped, I might as well maintain some dignity."

The dragon let out a little snort, sending two little gray rings up into the night air.  "Right, I can see why you would so insist on holding onto your dignity at this point."  Vivienne's brow wrinkled in confusion, but before she could speak, it continued.  "Well, if you're not going to scream, then let me just get the spell over with.  I'll make sure to swoop around the grounds a few times, create enough commotion to get the right amount of attention."

It reached toward her with one large scaly limb that appeared a cross between a paw and a hand.  But before it could reach her, Vivienne jumped to the side, tucking her legs as the momentum allowed her roll along.  Then, quick as she could move, she leapt up, raising her hands, and muttered a few words.  A beam of purple ran from her fingertips straight for the dragon's backside.

"Yow!" the beast yelped as it made a somewhat comical show of grabbing the injured area.  "What was that for?  I thought you said you weren't going to put up a fight."

Vivienne frowned at the comment.  "No, I said I was going to do this in a dignified manner.  I would say putting up a good fight is pretty dignified."

"Hmm, you know that actually wasn't bad… I didn't know you could do magic."

"Yeah, well, I can do a lot more than some simple heat ray spell," she boldly bluffed, deciding that perhaps she could threaten her way out of this little situation.

The dragon looked amused, almost smiling, as if such a thing were possible in the absence of lips.  "Oh, I doubt that.  Much more than that would require some level of schooling, and I know you haven't had any of that."

Her eyes narrowed as she took in the remark.  This was really pushing it now.  She was already sensitive enough about the issue without being mocked by some overgrown lizard.  "Oh, you are so going to get it now," she replied, raising her hands ominously.

"That's enough," the dragon rumbled, suddenly serious once again.  "I am not getting paid for all this extra stuff.  Let's just get this over with."

And before Vivienne could figure out what it meant to do, a pale yellow cloud blew over her body, emanating from one of the beast's hands.  Its calming presence had an immediate effect as, bonelessly, the princess crumpled to the ground, the impact of her body on the dirt only prevented by the red paw that came out to catch her.

But the resistance was not yet entirely gone from her, as Vivienne raised one increasingly numbing arm, and the bracelet on her right wrist caught on of its large claws.  She fell back again then, and the weight of her dropping body was enough to rip the small piece of jewelry right off her arm.  This was the slight, distant sensation of pain as the metal cut into her, and then it tumbled, unnoticed by her captor, to the ground.

Her eyes drooped closed as she was raised up into the air, but just before she slipped completely into unconscious, she caught a glimpse of gold lying against the dark grass.

Aw, and that was her favorite bracelet.

TBC 

Mwahhahhaha!!!  See you all in a week and half.


	19. Reluctant hero

**A/N:**  Okay, it's been a bad week.  I think my profs are conspiring against me and I owe about $600 in speeding tickets and related fines.  And I don't have a job ::starts whimpering and crying pitifully::  And do you know when it's due?  The day after my birthday!  They're going to start charging interest after that.  Stupid insurance company and stupid traffic cops.

So, yep, I'm still super busy and March is going to be the month from hell.  I can't promise you that I'll continue updating regularly during this time (just bear with me, we'll make it through to April, I swear we will!).  Don't come threatening me or throwing things at me if you don't hear from me for a couple of weeks.

As for the details of the plot and the various questions you've all posed… I will tell you nothing!  You'll just have to wait and see. ::giggles maniacally::  This is how I get my jollies.  This and that one day during the year when I fly all over the world and drop toys down chimneys.  Oops… I wasn't supposed to let anyone know about that.  Forget I ever said it.

Anyway, make my day and leave a review.

Little Miss Dove ~ You need to enter in the story id, which appears in the top right corner of every part.  I know, it really threw me off too when they changed it.

Jenny the chica ~ What happened to your epiphany?  You really have my curiosity going.

**Chapter 19**

**Intersections:  "Reluctant hero"**

In the moments following Valor's discovery, all hell broke loose.  Both groups—Lillith and Luke, and David, Virtue, Nora, Terrence and Rebecca—arrived at the scene at roughly the same time, everyone looking equally flustered and disoriented.

"What happened?" demanded both Lillith and Virtue simultaneously.  Lillith continued, "Where's Vivienne?"

Valor ran a hand through his already ruffled black hair, and gave her the bracelet.  "I don't know.  I came out here and looked all over, but I couldn't find her.  I was just about to go back in when I found this."

Lillith stared at the bracelet with a little 'o' of surprise.  "Vivienne was wearing this earlier."

Virtue shrugged, not seeing reason for the panic.  "So?  Maybe she just dropped it.  She could have gone back in without any of us noticing."

Valor shook his head and looked at the group uneasily.  His gaze lingered especially on the two youngest members.  David took the hint, and placing Rebecca on the ground, turned to his youngest brother.  "Terry, could you please take Becca back to the ballroom?  Take her to mom.  We'll all be right in."

Terrence knew when he was being 'dismissed' and why.  Of course something big had happened and he and his sister were considered too young to be kept informed.  "Aw, David," he began, but one look from David and he snapped his mouth shut.  Clearly he was in no mood for argument.

Terrence nodded and took Rebecca's hand.  "C'mon Becca.  Let's go."  Rebecca turned worried blue eyes toward her eldest brother.

"What's going on Davey?" she inquired.  "Where's Vivi?"

David crouched down before her and caught her gaze.  "We don't know right now, Becc, but we're going to look for her.  You just go with Terry and don't worry about Vivienne.  She'll be fine.  Alright?"

Rebecca nodded although she looked doubtful.  She followed Terrence away from the garden.  When they were a fair distance away but still in sight, David added, "Luke, you go with them."

Luke turned incredulous eyes on his brother.  "What?  You can't possibly think _I'm_ too young for this."

With a sigh, David regarded him.  "No, but if someone or something took Vivienne, I don't think it's too safe to let Becca and Terry make the trip by themselves."

Luke looked like he was about to put up an argument, but then he realized the logic of the statement and thought better of it.  "Fine," he said, abruptly taking off after the pair.  Say what you would about the rest of his personality, but Luke valued his baby sister's safety as much as either of her other brothers.

"Okay, shoot," Virtue demanded as all attention turned back to Valor.

"Well, um, I don't want you to panic or anything Lillith, but…" he paused uncertainly, a little frown on his face.

"What?" Lillith asked in apprehension.

"I found some blood on the bracelet."

"Blood?"

"Just a little bit," he quickly amended.  "She must have just cut herself on it when it came off."

"But of course, that means she couldn't have _not_ noticed that it came off," Lillith supplied, drawing the connection.  "And if she knew it fell, she should have at least stopped to pick it up… unless she couldn't."

There was a silent pause as everyone considered the implications.

"So you think she was abducted," Virtue finalized.

"Oh this is awful!" exclaimed Nora in a harsh breath.  She had remained quiet so far, the whole experience seeming to have left her looking rather pale and drawn.  "I mean, who would want to abduct her?  And why?"

Lillith shrugged absently, her brow drawn up in little worry lines.  "It could be anyone.  It's not as if there's someone in particular who would be coming after her."

"Wait a minute," David interrupted, his rational side demanding attention.  "Don't you think that the best thing to do _right now_ would be to inform the guards, and the parents?  Maybe someone saw something that might help.  They might not have even gotten that far away yet."

Valor looked a little relieved as he nodded in agreement.  "Definitely.  We need to tell your parents," he said to Lillith, "And ours too, so they—we—can decide how to respond."  Then he shook his head and muttered under his breath, just low enough so no one could make out his words, "They'll probably find some way to blame me for this."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As it turned out, none of the parents blamed Valor, nor were any of them particularly surprised by this turn of events.  Of course, they did a splendid job of acting otherwise.  They already had a half-blurted rambling story from Rebecca, which had been only slightly clarified by Terrence while Luke looked on silently, making no effort to help sort the confusion.

Well, it wasn't as if he knew anything anyway, he told himself.  Why waste his breath?

He helped himself to some hors d'oeuvres.  Wait until the others came back, and then everything would be cleared up just fine.

~*~*~

"Vivienne's bracelet!  Oh dear," moaned Queen Ella as she held the little piece of jewelry in her hand.  Her daughter rushed on in her explanation of the events that had led to their current conversation.

"Wait," Ella said, interrupting Lillith once again.  "There was blood on it?"  She frowned.

Lillith gave her mother a strange look but decided not to comment.  Why should she be concerned that Vivienne had cut herself when they had the much larger issue of the kidnapping to deal with?

"So what are we going to do?" Virtue demanded as she stalked the length of the room to which several members of the three royal families had excused themselves.

Both of Vivienne's parents, Queen Snow, Valor, Virtue, Lillith, David and Luke comprised their little group.  Queen Rose had opted to look after her youngest two children, and her husband had stayed to help her.  Rebecca was especially upset by what had happened, even though they all refused to give her the details.  Snow's husband, the second Charming, had declared that at least one member of the hosting couple should remain at the ball, so as to avoid suspicion.  He was fooling no one—he just didn't want to leave the room with all the alcohol.

"Well ending that little party out there might be a good start," Luke offered wryly.  He had followed the group in because at least now he would hear the details that he had been forced to miss earlier.  Knowledge was the key to success—not the kind you attained from readings books and learning to count, but the practical sort.  What happened when and where and why, and who was doing what with whom.  He always preferred to stay informed.

"But do we tell them all what happened?" Valor inquired before ducking discreetly into one of the various chairs.  He was trying to remain inconspicuous just on the off chance that his mother decided to end her generous mood and demand to know how he could have let something like this happen right under his very nose.  He was surprised that so far she had not even hinted that he might be at fault.  But he wasn't willing to try his luck.  Some prince he made, he thought with a sigh.  Couldn't even keep his potential future bride from being kidnapped out of his very home.

"How do we even know this is a kidnapping?"  Everyone looked toward Luke, in question.  "Maybe whoever took her doesn't _intend_ to return her.  Not alive, anyway," he added with a shrug.

Lillith paled visibly and turned back toward her mother, her gaze demanding reassurance.

Meanwhile, Virtue looked at David pointedly, who only shrugged helplessly.  Then she gave him a "fine, if you're not going to do it, then I will" expression and discreetly cuffed Luke across the back of the head.

"Ow!  What—" Another smack and he fell silent.

"Oh dear, I'm sure that's not true," Ella told her daughter.

"That's right honey," her father chimed in, resting an arm across her shoulder comfortingly.  Luke's words hadn't worried them, but they couldn't really tell Lillith why that was.

But Lillith was not going to be so easily consoled when who knew where her sister was, and how she was doing.  "How do you know?" she demanded.****

"Well, uh," Ella fumbled for an answer.  A knock on the door saved her from answering.

Valor leapt from his seat and rushed forward to answer.  A guard stood just outside in the hall, a piece of paper in his hand.  "This just appeared, my prince," he explained, handing it over.  "Like that, it simply fell out of thin air, landing right into the middle of the main entrance.  The sentries posted there saw it arrive."

Valor thanked the man and closed the door.  He handed the note to his mother, who shared a secret look of puzzlement with her friend before opening it.  "It's a ransom note," she announced.

"A… ransom note?" Ella repeated.  Then, "What does it say?"

Snow read aloud:  "If you wish to retrieve the princess, send a hero of true courage to face me.  Send him to the Drunk Man's Dive, tomorrow morning, where he'll find his first clue.  Make sure he comes alone."

"What's the Drunk Man's Dive?" Lillith questioned.

"It's a tavern."  The reply, of course, came from Valor.  "It's about two miles away from here, to the west."  He'd been there a fair number of times before, having been introduced to the place by his "uncles," the dwarves.  It was far enough away that he wouldn't be recognized for who he was by appearance alone.

"So who are you going to send?" Virtue said, glancing from her mother to Ella.

Snow looked directly at her son, whose eyes widened as they met her own.  "_Me_?" he choked out.  He shook his head adamantly.  "It says a 'hero of true courage.'  I'm no hero.  That can't be me."

"It depends entirely on how you define the term 'hero,'" his mother corrected.  "I doubt this means in a literal, proven veteran of war sort of way.  Just someone who fits the image."

"You mean like a prince," Lillith supplied, nodding her head in understanding.  "A prince who comes to rescue the princess would be the typical hero… you know, this whole fairytale thing.  Wouldn't he, mother?"

Ella stared back at her daughter, her brown eyes gleaming proudly.  "So you _have_ been listening all this time.  I thought everything I said went in one ear and out the other when it came to you and your sister."

"Oh, this is all good and wonderful," Valor interrupted, "But it doesn't change the fact that even if I did go, I wouldn't have any idea how to face off against whoever took Vivienne.  By the way, has anyone figured out just who the perpetrator is?  I don't remembering hearing a name signed to that note."

No one had the answer.

"Well, who else would we send?" Ella demanded as she looked at him.  "There isn't exactly an abundance of 'heroes' in that ballroom.  And we need someone _now_… who knows what could happen in the time it would take to recruit a professional?"

Another knock at the door interrupted Valor's next line of protests before they could even begin.  This time it was Virtue who went to answer.  Another guard stood there with a small scruffy boy, perhaps Terrence's age, at his side.

"Excuse me princess," the guard greeted her.  "But this boy claims to have seen something related to the—incident—that might be of some use."

Virtue moved aside and let the pair enter the room.  The boy looked about the room nervously, scratching his brown head.  He made no move to speak.

"Hello son, what's your name?" Charming inquired gently.

"Matt," he answered in a squeak.  He had a skittish look about him and seemed as if any moment he might just run back out the door through which he'd come.

The king smiled kindly, and put a hand on the boy's shoulder.  "Well, Matt, what exactly did you see?"

"Um, you see sir, yer highness, I's in the kitchen with my mum—she's one of the cooks—an' she tol' me to take out the trash… chickens heads an' feet an' feathers… the sort of stuff that makes the room stink if kept inside too long."  Matt rambled on, seemingly oblivious to the grimaces of several of the room's occupants.  "Anyway, I's takin' out the stuff to the big bin where Lou, the head gard'ner, would get to it an' use it fer fertilizer…"

A few shudders were felt throughout the room, especially from those who had just come from the very garden where "Lou" would have disposed of the parts.

"An' then I sees this shadow in the sky… this monstrous shadow!  So big, it blocks out all the stars… I think it were as big as the castle itself… I thought it might just swoop down an'—"

"Matt," King Charming interrupted, cutting the boy's rambling short.

Matt looked at him sheepishly.  "Yes sir, yer highness.  Um, oh yeah, so it swooped 'cross the sky an' flew off."

"Which way did it go?" Ella asked.

"Um…" the boy thought hard, his nose scrunching up and his eyes narrowing into slits.  "West," he finally replied.  Then he nodded his head more confidently.  "Yep, definitely west."

Virtue shook her head, confused.  "Alright, this might seem like a stupid question, but what was it?"

"Oh, right!" Matt exclaimed, hitting his head as he realized he'd forgotten that part of the story.  He shook his shaggy brown hair and finally supplied, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, "A dragon."

There was a moment of silence as the occupants of the room regarded that bit of news with varying degrees of shock.  Finally, Luke broke it with a small whistle and a pitying look in Valor's direction.  "Glad I'm not you."

TBC 


	20. And we're off

**A/N:**  Wow, has it been over 3 weeks already?  Time sure does fly when you're scrambling to meet deadlines.  Anyway, it's not over yet, but I've survived the worst of it.  Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews—and you ask such interesting questions.  I just can't answer some of them because I don't want to give anything away.  But hopefully, this next chapter will sate your curiosity… somewhat.

Now I have quick favor to ask y'all.  I don't like having to refer to the two Charmings as "Charming1" and "Charming2".  Having a number in one's name just isn't appropriate… unless you happen to be a part of a secret, government-funded genetic engineering program, or you're a member of the Collective.  So, if you can suggest any nicknames for either of the Charmings… I'll be ever so grateful.  And for whoever suggests the name I end up using, I'll give you a walk-on role in an upcoming chapter. ^_^

I was in a hurry to get this chapter up, so I haven't edited it.  Forgive me any mistakes—but feel free to point them out so I can go back and fix them.

**Chapter 20**

**Intersections:  "And we're off"**

Queen Snow made the announcement to the oblivious guests.  Now, normally this might seem like the sort of bad publicity one might want to avoid—having a guest kidnapped during one of your parties from right beneath your nose—but this was exactly the sort of opportunity so many royal families dreamt of.  If handled right, if all things went well, this could indeed be the beginning of the latest fairytale.

It was enough to make many individuals green with envy.  Valor was green as well, but for different reasons altogether.

Few details were emitted from the explanation, though some were related with creative license.  For instance, Valor "volunteered" to rescue Vivienne _after_ learning that she had been kidnapped—and by a _dragon_, no less.  And, of course, he was going alone, not because that had been a stipulation of the kidnapper, but because they were all so confident in his abilities, and he didn't wish for anyone else to put themselves in harm's way.

None of the guests could understand why though, throughout the explanation, one blond-haired boy in blue stood in the back, trying unsuccessfully to control the coughing fit that was interlaced with several strange snorting sounds.  Or why the girl in the pale yellow dress standing next to him, jabbed an elbow in his side every so often, at the height of each episode.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning Valor watched with growing dread as servants packed the necessary supplies onto his faithful steed, Cautious.  And by faithful, of course, it simply meant the horse had yet to deliberately humiliate him in public.

Many of the guests had left already, the previous night, after the announcement, but some had remained behind, staying in hastily prepared guestrooms, determined to see the prince off.  After all, it wasn't every day that you got to personally witness the beginning of a legend.

"Valor, my boy," the for-once sober King Charming said, clamping his hands onto his son's shoulders, "Let me give you some advice… first of all, never stop to ask for directions.  Real men can figure out the way on their own.  Second, if anyone offers you something to eat or drink, take it.  You can always rely on the hospitability of complete strangers.  Finally, if a farmer has a beautiful daughter and tells you to stay away from her—by god, boy, stay away from her!"  With that, and a hearty clap on the shoulder that nearly caused the prince to lose his balance, his father moved on to join the other parents.

Next came Queen Snow, who straightened his collar and brush back an errant lock of the dark hair they both shared.  She spoke quietly, so only Valor could hear.  "You can do this, Valor, as long as you keep your head on straight.  Really, it isn't as difficult as it might seem at first—dragons are just as vulnerable as any other creatures.  Besides, who's to say this creature has any intention of harming either of you?  I'm sure its motives are more reasonable than that."  She sighed, and then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which he had to bend down to receive.  "Oh, and a word of advice," she added.  "Forget everything your father told you."  Then she too was stepping back into the crowd.

Queen Ella and her husband came together, their parting brief and composed.  "We have perfect trust in your abilities," Charming declared and they both graced him with a smile.

"You just keep yourself safe," Ella added, and then they moved off.

His friend Malyn approached in his usual, easy walk, though there was a slight limp to his right leg.  "You have some wonderful pearl of wisdom for me too?" Valor asked, grinning slightly.

The other prince nodded somberly, placing a heavy hand on Valor's shoulder.  "Whatever you do—stay on Nora's good side.  That girl can kick!" he said, glancing down at his injured leg.

Valor laughed, momentarily forgetting his precarious situation.  "That's right, I never did get a chance to thank you for yesterday."

Malyn waved it off.  "Don't worry about.  Besides, I'm sure I'll wheedle a return favor out of you someday."  Before he could say any more, he spotted a head of blond hair coming the pair's way and he quickly stepped back.  "I gotta go man, but I'm sure we'll be running into each other soon enough.  Good luck!"  Then he disappeared into the crowd, just as Princess Nora reached Valor.

"Valor!" she exclaimed with a bright smile.  He noted then that she didn't appear to be dressed in the ballgown she'd worn the other night, though this dressed looked no less expensive.  He frowned mentally.  What kind of a person brought a spare dress to a one-night ball?

Nora's smile disappeared and a look of concern took its place.  She took one of his hands in hers.  "You take care of yourself.  Even if you don't end up rescuing Vivienne, no one could blame you."  Valor raised an eyebrow, and she hastily continued.  "What I mean is, if something should happen to her, there's no use in both of you—"

She was abruptly pushed aside, and his hand fell free of her grasp.  "Oh, excuse me," a saccharine voice interrupted.  "Did I interrupt?  I'm ever so sorry."  Virtue sent a smile in the other girl's direction, though her voice seemed to suggest she wasn't anything but sorry.  "I just wanted to sneak in a quick goodbye to my brother.  I'm sure you don't mind?"

Nora glared angrily at Virtue, but immediately covered up the expression with a smile of her own.  "Not at all.  I know the importance of family."  She waited a moment, but when it became apparent that Virtue was not about to begin while she was still present, she turned and stalked away.

As soon as she was out of range, Virtue dropped the phony smile and let out a contemptuous snort.  "What a bitch."

"You heard what she was saying?"

"Huh?" she replied, turning back to him.  "No, it was just an overall personality assessment."

"Ah," he said, nodding understandingly.  "So, you had something to say to me?"

"Yeah.  You shouldn't be the one going.  I should," she stated simply.

"Oh?" he asked, surprised.  "How do you figure that?"

Not mincing her words, she answered, "Because _I'm_ the one who can fight, _I'm_ the one who can ride a horse, and _I'm_ the one who's been dying for a chance like this."

"Hey, I can take care of myself just fine," he countered indignantly.

Virtue rolled her eyes.  "Well, if that were what this was about, then that'd be great.  Unfortunately, the taking care of yourself part is kind of just implicit.  You're supposed to be rescuing Vivienne!"

Valor sighed, realizing she was only saying what he already knew and had told himself.  But there was no changing how things were going to be.  "And, unfortunately, there isn't anything either of us can do about this.  It's going to be me—it has to be me."

Virtue let out a frustrated groan.  "I know, I know.  It _has_ to be you."  But there was something in her eyes that made him uneasy, despite her seeming acceptance of the situation.

"Vir," he began warily.  "Promise me you won't do anything stupid."

Virtue grinned up at him, taking a small step back.  "Stupidity is a matter of perception, Val," she said, adding another step.  "For instance, what you might consider stupid, others might call a sign of brilliance."  Another two quick steps.  "See you soon Val, and good luck!"  She darted into the crowd before he could question her further.

The other goodbyes were much quicker, some just a word or two, others a nod and a smile, and before he knew it, it was time to go.  A stable hand helped him onto his horse, and luckily all potentially embarrassing incidences were avoided.  Cautious, remaining true to his name, stood placidly in place while his owner mounted.  Perhaps the creature had simply learned his lesson from the last time, Valor thought hopefully.

Tossing a hasty glance at the assembled group, he managed to catch the gaze of his sister, who stood off to the back, next to David and Lillith.  When she realized he was looking at her, she gave him a brilliant smile and a wink that did nothing to ease his concerns.  Then a swift stroke was planted on the horse's flank, and the pair was off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Virtue passed the threshold of the guestroom not much later, she found Lillith hastily gathering a bundle of supplies, just as she'd expected.  The other girl didn't pause in her actions, but sent her a stern sideways glance that brooked no argument.  "Don't try to stop me."

Virtue flopped down on the bed, watching Lillith's swift movements.  "Right… do you remember who you're talking to?  I was going to ask you if you wanted some company."

Lillith paused, giving Virtue a steady look.  Then she let out a small laugh.  "I should've guessed you would offer to join me."  She shook her head slightly then continued with the last of her packing.  It was a small bundle, which she then fit into a sack that could easily be carried over her shoulder.  "You'll have to pack."

"Way ahead of you," Virtue replied.  Standing up, she walked to the doorway, and from just outside the room, in the hallway, she retrieved a similar, though slightly larger bag.  She tossed it to Lillith, who just barely caught it.

"Why is it so heavy?" she exclaimed, heaving the bag back to the other girl.

Virtue shrugged, handling it easily.  "Knives, daggers, crossbows… you know, the usual supplies."

Lillith placed her hands on her hips, watching her skeptically.  "Did you pack any food or extra clothes?"

Virtue blinked.  "Oh, right.  I guess we'll need that stuff too."  Then she gave Lillith a once-over.  "Are you going dressed like that?"

Glancing down at herself, Lillith failed to see the problem.  "Why, what's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"It's a dress," Virtue answered, as if that were all the reason in the world.

"So…?"

"So, dresses do not make good traveling clothes."

"What are you talking about?" Lillith exclaimed.  "I've always done all my traveling in dresses, and I've never had a problem."

Virtue rolled her eyes.  "This isn't going to be the kind of traveling you're used to.  Believe me, you'll be much more comfortable if you dress like me," she said, indicating the breeches and tunic she had changed into since seeing Valor off.

Lillith scrunched up her nose as she evaluated her friend's appearance.  "Well, maybe it works for you, but there's no way I'm going to wear breeches," she replied, shaking her head vehemently.

Virtue shrugged.  "Fine, suit yourself.  Just so we're clear, I did warn you."

"Yeah, yeah, you warned me," Lillith replied, shooing her along.  "Now let's get ourselves a few of those peripheral supplies… food, water—you know, that sort."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They managed to get into the kitchen and back out without raising suspicion.  The remaining guests had left immediately after Valor's departure, and the castle was considerably quieter now.  Walking quietly down the deserted hallway and congratulating themselves on what a good a job they'd done keeping their plan a secret, they didn't even notice the figure following them, until it spoke up.  "I'm going with you."

Lillith jumped nearly a foot into the air, simultaneously letting out a high-pitched squeal, and Virtue whirled around defensively.  "David!"

He stood watching them, arms folded over his chest.  "I can't believe you weren't going to let me in on this."

Virtue ignored the remark and snapped, "This better not be some misplaced notion of chivalry.  That the two little girls can't possibly look after themselves, so they need a big strong man to protect them."

He grinned slightly.  "Hardly.  I just figured it'd be safer to go with you than stay behind and face all our parents."

"You're going to have to pack," Lillith sighed, slightly frustrated by the fact that their departure was going to be delayed.

"No need," David replied, pulling around the bag he slung across his back.  Seeing it, Lillith immediately burst out laughing, while Virtue glared at her and attempted to smother her own smile.  David watched them both in confusion.

After a moment, when the laughter had died out, Virtue asked, "Well, is that everything then?"

"Um, no just one more thing," Lillith answered, reaching into her bag to pull something out.  "We have to leave them a note—to let them know where we've gone—and put it somewhere they're bound to find it, but not too soon."

Just then, Luke turned the corner of the corridor, whistling jovially.  When he saw the trio before him, he abruptly froze.  And when he realized what he was witnessing, his eyes widened slightly, and he turned to leave.  Before he could get very far, however, he found himself lying on the cold stone floor, a moving weight having tackled him at the waist.  The front of his body pressed into the ground while Virtue sat on his back, pinning one arm painfully behind him.

"Oh no you don't," she hissed in his ear.

"David, get your crazy little girlfriend off of me!" he shouted—or attempted to shout, but it was difficult to speak too loud when his face trapped in its current position.

"Vir," David began hesitantly, coming up to the pair.  "What are you doing?"

Virtue spared him a quick glance, but didn't keep her gaze off Luke for long.  "Oh come on David.  Do you honestly think he won't go tell everyone what we're doing as soon as he gets a chance?"

"Of course he won't… will you?" David asked, turning to his brother.

"Um… of course not," Luke replied, attempting to swat Virtue with his one free arm.  She, in turn, twisted his arm another couple of degrees.  "Ow!  Okay, okay, I get your point.  Stop doing that."

"That didn't sound very convincing, Luke," David countered, lowering himself into a crouching position so he could look into the younger boy's eyes.

"It didn't?  Well, let me try it again."  He cleared his throat.  "Of course I won't."  Virtue twisted his arm again.  "Hey, I thought we agreed you wouldn't do that!"

"I don't trust him," she told David, and he glanced up into her face.

"Neither do I," he replied, shaking his head solemnly.

"You wound me, you two.  What have I ever done to deserve such lack of faith?"  Luke craned his head the little amount he could, spotting the one person who had yet to speak since his arrival.  "You trust me, Lilly, don't you?"

"Shut up," Virtue ordered before the other girl could reply, and shoved his head back down to the ground with her unoccupied hand.  "It doesn't matter what Lilly thinks.  The majority has already decided."

"Oh, and what are you going to do?" he drawled sarcastically.  "Tie me up and toss me in a closet?"

Virtue grinned and caught David's eye.  "No, we're just going to take you with us."

TBC 

Next time:  Of course, Terry and Becca have to get in on the gig.

**A/N:** (yes, some more)

**fufie** ~ It was really sweet for you to be concerned, but you don't have to worry about me.  Apparently, I **will** survive… though it was a little touch-and-go there. ;-)  About your chapter, you want me to let you in on a little secret?  If you load the page and then press "refresh", the update should show up right away.  That just gives you an idea of how much time I spend on this site. : P  And yes, I do thrive on reviews!

**P.S.** ~ I'm uploading this at 12:06 a.m. so it is now technically my birthday!


	21. Unforeseen complications

**A/N:**  Thank you to all of you who wished me a happy birthday, and thanks just for reviewing.  Especially you return reviewers who manage to get to every chapter.  I love to hear what you all think.

**Phasera** ~ Let's just say that I can now officially drink and gamble anywhere in the world.  (Always look on the bright side, right?)  We'll get to see Vivienne's POV soon enough… probably next chapter.

**Aerin** ~ Thanks for pointing out the mistake—it's been fixed.  English isn't your first language?  You could have fooled me.  Hey, you caught **my** mistake. ;-)

**fufie** ~ The third king is actually already named Charmant, so I guess that's close enough.  Thanks for the suggestion though.  And I will not kill you, no matter what you do/say.

And a special thanks to **Kerista** for the nickname suggestion:  Chim!  (That's so adorable.)__

**Chapter 21**

**Intersections:  "Unforeseen complications"**

Terrence stood in the guestroom he had been assigned, deep in thought as he stared at the clothes that had been brought with him on this trip, considering just what was required in the way of supplies for a rescue operation.  A voice piped up behind him.

"What're you doing?"  Abruptly he spun around and found himself face to face with his sister.  He let out a small sigh, though he wasn't entirely relieved.

"Nothing," he replied shortly.

Rebecca shook her head, blond hair fanning with the exaggerated move.  She stood, one leg crossed in front of the other, her arms behind her back—a classic pose that suggested she was in possession of the proverbial beans and was willing to spill.

"Nuh-uh.  You're up to something," she insisted.  Then, with a not so innocent smile, "And I know what it is."

"Really?" Terrence replied, crossing his arms over his chest and eyeing her warily.

"Yeah," she said, nodding enthusiastically.  "You're going to follow Davey, Vir and Lilly."

He forced himself not to react.  "Oh," he said casually, "and where are they going?"  Discreetly, he gazed about the room for a piece of rope, ribbon, or something of the kind and wondered whether he couldn't just tie her up and leave her in a closet for their parents to find—just until he had enough time to sneak out and get far enough away from the castle for a good head start.

"They're going after Val to rescue Vivi!" she declared happily, and loudly.

"Shh," he hissed, pouncing forward to clamp a hand over her mouth.  "You don't want anyone to find out, do you?"  Blue eyes wide, Rebecca shook her head.  "Because if they did—the parents, the servants, or any of the adults—then they'd stop us all and not let us go.  And then what would happen to Vivienne?" he inquired, preying on her affection for the eldest princess with only the slightest amount of guilt.

Rebecca pushed his hand aside timidly.  "Val would rescue her?" she suggested in a meek voice.

Terrence shook his head grimly.  "If that were true, then why would David and the others be following him?"  She stared at him without answering, eyes widened in anticipation.  "Because they don't think he can do it on his own."

"But what about mommy and daddy… and Queen Ella, and Queen Snow, and King Charming, and the other King Charming?" she finished, slightly out of breath.  "If they didn't think Val could do it, wouldn't they have done something?"

Her brother sighed, leaning back.  "Becca, you don't understand grownups.  They just don't think the same way as us.  And sometimes they do really dumb things that could have been avoided if they'd just listen—but they don't."  He shrugged.  "David and the others are going, and you're right… I'm going after them."  He returned to his packing, sorting through his clothes for something comfortable and appropriate for the weather.

"I'm going with you!"

Terrence whipped around, shaking his head fiercely.  "Oh, no, no, no."

Rebecca nodded hers just as fiercely.  "Yes, yes, yes!"  Maybe a little too fiercely.  Her eyes crossed over slightly and she stumbled back a couple of steps.

Reaching over, he steadied her, but remained adamant in his refusal.  "No, Becca, I am _not_ babysitting you."

"You don't have to babysit me!  I'm big enough to take care of myself!" she cried indignantly.

"It'll be dangerous," he warned.

"It won't be any more dangerous for me than for you."

"I don't have to take you.  I can just say no."

"And I can tell Davey about your plan."

His eyes narrowed.  "You wouldn't."

"Would too."

He glared at her and then stood back thoughtfully.  "If you tell him, I could just do to him what you're doing to me and make him take me along."

"You wouldn't do that," she replied confidently.  "Davey'd say you can't come and you wouldn't come.  You always do whatever Davey says."

Terrence scowled.  "So do you."

"Yep, 'cause he's my big brother."

"So am I.  So's Luke."  He frowned.  "Why don't you ever do what _I _say?"

Rebecca rolled her eyes and let out an impatient sigh.  "_Because_," she said, enunciating the word, "he's my _biggest_ big brother."

"So?"

"So."

They locked themselves in a staring contest that lasted about a minute then Terrence threw his hands up in frustration.  "Alright," he conceded, "you can come."  Rebecca let out a cheer and launched herself at him, engulfing him in an embrace.  "As long as," he continued, trying to pry her off him, "you listen to what I say and do what I tell you."

"Sure," she replied amicably, all compromise now that she'd gotten her way.

"Even though I'm not your 'biggest big brother'?"

"Okay."

Terrence groaned and flopped down on the bed, propping his head up in his hands.  "Why do I get the feeling you're just humoring me?"

Quietly, his sister took a seat beside him, placing a comforting hand on his back.  An utterly serious look on her face, she turned to him and confided, "I don't even know what that means."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"This way," Virtue directed to the trio behind her as she scoped the area with practiced ease.

"Where are we going?" David inquired, leading a gagged Luke, whose hands had been bound behind him.

Lillith frowned, taking in the sight before her.  She had questioned whether it wouldn't be less conspicuous, in case someone were to cross their path, to leave him free and untied.  It wasn't likely he would just blurt out their plan to whomever should drift their way—it's not as if his life were in danger.  But there was a glint in Virtue's eyes as she did the sturdy knots and tested them for weakness that indicated there was no reasoning with the girl at this point.

"The stables," Virtue replied.  "I have a source in there, one who can easily be convinced to take a conveniently timed walk while we get our horses together."

"Horses?" Lillith squeaked suddenly.  "You mean like as in riding?  On a saddle?"

Virtue eyed her warily.  "Generally, yes, that's how people travel when they need to get somewhere quickly."  She let out a short breath, having already anticipated what was coming next.  "Do you have something you'd like to share with us?"

"Um, yes," she managed, a slight tinge of pink to her cheeks.  "I can't ride."  Then she quickly clarified, "A horse."

Virtue rolled her eyes.  "Of course a horse—what else would we think you mean?"  At her words Luke began to choke behind his gag, a noise that could roughly be interpreted as laughter.  David cuffed him upside the head.

To Virtue's raised eyebrow, he shrugged.  "There are rare situations in which you just don't have a choice."

She turned back to Lillith.  "Not at all?"  The other girl shook her head.  "Okay."  She sighed.  "We can double.  Three horses between us."

Lillith gave her a relieved look as they entered the stable.  "Who am I doubling with?"

Luke lifted his eyebrows suggestively and Virtue scoffed at his response.  "Right.  No, you can ride with me."  Then her attention turned to the task at hand and she called out, "Emilio!"

A few moments later, a figure emerged from the depths of the large stable.  "Vir," the boy greeted casually, appraising the small group.  "Goin' for a ride?"

She grinned in reply.  "Something like that.  Three horses."

Emilio nodded slowly.  "I take it the gagged one's stayin' behind."  Luke glared at him in response then took turns glaring at the other three.  Obviously, he didn't appreciate being seen in his current position.

"Nope.  He's coming.  He even gets his own horse," she answered, giving a Luke a sweet smile, as if she were doing him a great favor.  "Lilly here's doubling with me."  She leaned forward and whispered confidentially, "She can't ride."

Lillith huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.  "It's not that big a deal.  You know, there are more important things in life than riding a horse."  Virtue stared back at her incredulously, while Emilio's expression could only be described as one of horror.  Apologetically, she amended, "Not that it isn't very important.  It's just that it's not _that_ important, when you look at the grand scheme of…" she faltered.  "Never mind."

Emilio glanced at Virtue.  "Why do I get the feelin' that whatever you're up to, your parents don't know 'bout it?  And does it have anythin' to do with your brother's little trip?"

"Don't worry about it," she replied easily.  "You won't get any of the blame.  You have a lunch break coming up… why don't you take it a little early?" she suggested.  "Then all you have to do is say you didn't hear or see a thing, and keep quiet as long as you can.  By evening, we'll be too far away for them to stop us.  They can follow us, but we'll have a good head start."

He raised an eyebrow and stared back at her.  "That's not exactly the most foolproof plan I've ever heard.  What about when I come back?  I'm supposed to not notice three missin' horses?  'Sides, I'm just another stable hand—what about when the livery master comes by?"

"Nice try," she said, shaking her head.  "I know it's his day off today, so you don't have to worry about him."

"But what about all the other holes?"

Finally, Virtue reached forward and grabbed a hold of Emilio's collars, pulling him down so he was eye-level to her.  "You can take a walk or—" she growled menacingly—"we can knock you out.  Take your pick."

Emilio blinked rapidly, the fear apparent in his eyes.  Obviously, he knew when to take the princess seriously.  But before he could respond, Virtue's fingers were gently, but firmly, pried from his shirt, as David pulled her back, away from the boy.  "What Vir means is," he explain in a placid voice, "it'd be best for all involved if you just cooperated."

Emilio nodded quickly.  "Sure.  You got it.  I'm outta here."  He rushed toward the entrance.  "I'll be back in half—no, make that an hour.  You can all just take your time."  Then he was gone.

"See?" Virtue shrugged easily.  "Not so hard."

~*~*~*~

Twenty minutes later, the group was off, Lillith riding behind Virtue, Luke with his hands tied before him, to the saddle, following the directions Virtue had acquired to the Drunk Man's Dive.

But Emilio wasn't scheduled to return for another good forty minutes, leaving plenty of time for the next pair to retrieve a horse of their own, saddle up, and follow in pursuit.  Terrence had always been a keen rider, and with his sister nestled comfortably before him, he was easily able to keep up with the other group.

All they needed was to remain within following distanced, undetected, until nightfall, he explained to Rebecca.

"Why, what happens at night?" she inquired, twisting her neck to glance up at him.

Terrence picked blond hair out of his mouth before answering.  "Sit still.  By night, we'll already have gotten far enough so they can't send us back.  They'll have to keep us with them, if they want to keep up with Val."

"Oh."

Yes, it was a brilliant plan; Terrence congratulated himself, grinning widely.  And if anyone were to look upon him at that moment, with the sun shining off his hair, making it appear lighter than usual, a self-satisfied smile on his face and calculating gaze taking in their surroundings—well, one might have pointed out his sudden eerie resemblance to Luke.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Snow stared at the man before her, face slack with shock.  "You didn't send the dragon?"

"No, I didn't send the dragon!" he returned, aghast.  "Where would I get my hands on a bloody dragon?!"  He swept a hand through short, sandy hair.  "No, no.  I sent a witch—you know, for the whole 'curse' angle.  'Cept, when she got here, the castle was already in chaos.  Yer girl was gone."  He turned to Ella and her husband.  "My sincere condolences on that, by the way."

"She's not dead!" Ella practically shrieked, causing the other occupants of the room to wince at the sound.

"James!" Snow hissed with narrowed eyes.  She quickly turned to her friend, approaching her and taking one hand in her own.  "No, dear, of course that wasn't what James meant."  She shot a backwards glance at the man.

"Er, of course, yer highness," James took up.  "I'm just saying I'm sorry, is all.  'Bout how things didn't turn out the way we'd all planned."  Then he muttered lowly, shaking his head, "It's just… who knew that bloody dragon would show up?  And of all the times and places!"

"Oh no," Ella moaned, shaking her head and burying it in her one free hand.  "Our poor daughter.  She's actually been kidnapped… by some, some… complete stranger!  Who knows what she's going through right now?" she wailed.  "My baby!"  Charming placed an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his embrace, his own face looking more tired and old than it had only a few hours earlier.

"And we sent Val after her!" Snow suddenly declared, eyes widening in growing horror.  The room went quiet.

Charming finally spoke, "So what do we do now?"

"What _can_ you do?" Rose returned.  "We all saw the ransom note—it said he had to go alone.  You send anyone after him, and you endanger them both."

"Uh, Charming—" Ella's husband began, but he was briefly interrupted by the other man.

"Please, call me Chim.  To avoid the confusion," he explained, for once sober and without a drink in his hand, though he looked like he could really use one.

"Chim," he amended, "if we had to send someone after them, do you have any men in your service that could be discrete about it?  They _can't_ be detected."

Chim nodded, sitting forward thoughtfully.  "Yes, I'm sure I could get together a small group quickly.  And just make sure they dress casually—like adventurers.  No one would make the connection."

A quiet knock sounded at the door and Charmant, who was closest, went to answer it while the others continued their discussion.  A very harried looking servant gave him the message, trepidation coloring his face.  He returned to the group shortly.  "We have bigger problems than that, mes amis," he interrupted and the rest looked toward him expectantly.  "The children have gone after them."

Silence.

Then Rose inquired apprehensively, "Which ones?"

Her husband's face was grim as he answered, "All of them."

Silence once more.  Then a weary sigh and Chim's statement summed it all up:  "This is not good."

END OF PART 1 

TBC

**A/N:**  Bet you didn't expect that little twist, now didya?  That's why I kept telling you all you were "sorta right" about the dragon and the parents' plan… of course, I just couldn't explain what I meant by that.

Okay, Jenny, and anyone else who's been wondering, we are now at the end of the "first part" that I mentioned earlier.  I don't know how helpful that is exactly, considering right now I'm pretty clueless as to how long the second part's going to be.  Would I frighten you terribly if I said that we might be at the halfway point?  I'd frighten myself.  I've never written anything this long before—it's like the story that doesn't want to end.

**Next time:**  Val spends a little quality time with Cautious… and how well is Vivienne going to react to the whole damsel-in-distress role?


	22. Dragon, you aren't

**A/N:**  Okay, first of all, to clear up the confusion.  I guess I could have done a better job of this the first time around, but Chim is Snow's husband, Ella's husband will still be referred to as Charming, and the third king is (and always was) Charmant.  ::sighs::   Whenever I finish this story, I'll make sure to go back and add that Chim thing in early on, but until then…

I'm glad you all enjoyed the twist.  I've had that part in mind pretty much since the beginning.  And I am absolutely relieved that I didn't scare any of you off with the whole "half-way point" thing.  It's not like I'm in a hurry to wrap this sucker up.

**PART 2**

**Chapter 22**

**"Dragon, you aren't"**

With a groan, Vivienne rolled over, the softness of a mattress hitting her back.  Funny, she didn't remember going to bed.  She couldn't even recall the end of the ball.  But it had to have ended otherwise she wouldn't be here, would she?

Raising her hands to rub her still closed eyes, the crinkle of cloth made her freeze before she completed the motion.  That wasn't her nightgown—her nightgown wouldn't make a noise like that.  Her eyes snapped open and she glanced down at herself, seeing the same green dress she'd worn at the ball.

How could she have fallen asleep her ball gown?

"Well nice to see you're finally awake," an unfamiliar voice commented with the slightest tinge of impatience.

Abruptly, she sat up on the bed, the memories of the ball and following events rushing back to the forefront of her mind.  She glanced toward the foot of the bed, at the owner of the voice.  He was lounging against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, dressed in a plain gray shirt and black pants.  Fiery red hair, short but still somehow giving the impression of wildness, stuck straight up in the air in small spikes.  He looked fairly young, maybe only a couple of years older than herself, maybe Valor's age.

Vivienne opened her mouth to speak, but found both her voice and intelligible conversation lacking.  There were so many thoughts rushing through her head, she didn't even know where to start.

He pulled away from the wall and came closer, dropping his arms to his side.  "I've already delivered the note, and he should be on his way to the tavern already.  He'll find the first clue waiting for him there."  Moving to the side of the bed, he reached for something on the nearby table, a piece of paper.   "Here, this is—oomph!"  He fell backwards as Vivienne's foot contacted his stomach, and he landed on the stone floor with a dull thud.

She launched herself from the bed, stopping a few safe feet away from the stranger and glanced about the room for a weapon.  Gaze falling on the poker resting by the unlit fireplace, she snatched the iron rod up.

"What the hell was that for?!" the man demanded from his position on the floor.  His eyes held disbelief, annoyance and mild outrage.

"Gee, I do wonder what," she replied, taking up a defensive position with the weapon brandished before her.  "Might have something to do with the whole kidnapping thing."

Confused emerald eyes stared back at her, and slowly he lifted himself to his feet, taking the time to brush the dust from his clothes.  "What?  Was there something I did wrong?  I followed all the instructions to the last detail.  If you changed your mind about something last minute, it's not my fault.  You should have let me know."  Now he was looking defensive, regarding her as if he didn't even notice the poker in her hands.  And still she had no clue what he was going on about.

"Look pal, I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't know why you're doing this," she eyed him carefully, just in case he planned to spring while she was distracted by the conversation, "But you won't get away with this.  My parents are going to send people after me.  You can't hide from them forever, you'll see."

His eyes narrowed, bringing together two eyebrows as red as the rest of his hair.  "What do your parents have to do with this?  I thought you were trying to get the prince… that's why you were going for this whole rescue thing."  Then he shook his head, putting up his hands.  "Whatever it is, I've done half my part already, and you're only paying me for what we agreed on, nothing more.  So you better not go changing this on me."

Vivienne's frustration was quickly building.  She simply didn't have the patience to deal with some crazy guy who refused to talk any sense.  "What are you talking about?!  I didn't arrange any deal with you—_you kidnapped me_!  What is so hard for you to understand about that?  Really, if you're _that_ stupid, how did you pull off the whole abduction thing?"

That might have been a mistake, because the stranger's eyes turned hard, like jade, and his mouth thinned into a straight line.  "Look, _princess_"—he bit the word out spitefully—"I may have agreed to work for you, but I didn't agree to put up with any of this crap.  I kidnapped you because you hired me to.  You were supposed to be in the garden at midnight and I was supposed to take you away—and everything went the way it was planned."

Vivienne stilled as she listened to his words.  In the garden at midnight?  Yes, she had been there at about that time, but that had been a completely spontaneous decision.  On no, could this really just be a catastrophic case of mistaken identity?  Although it left her to wonder _whom_ of the dozens, if not hundreds of young women at the ball had arranged to have herself abducted in the midst of the celebrations.  But before she could dwell any further on those thoughts, a realization hit her.

"You were the dragon!"  She could even hear the wonder in her own voice as she said this and she studied him carefully, taking in the green eyes, the red hair—the very coloring of her kidnapper.

He rolled his eyes.  "Of course I was.  You didn't really think I would be able to get my hands on a real live dragon, did you?  Even if I did manage to find one, how would I go about convincing it to get in on a phony kidnapping?"  From the expression on his face, it was clear just how little he thought of her intelligence at the moment.

She shook her head, more than a little annoyed at his condescending tone.  "Don't you get it, you dolt?  You've got the wrong person.  I did _not_ hire you to kidnap me.  I didn't hire _anyone_ to kidnap me, or anyone else."

It took a moment, but finally her words sank in.  His green eyes widened.  "Oh please tell me you're just kidding," he replied.  But even as he spoke, it was obvious he didn't really doubt her words.

It was then that he seemed to notice the poker in her hands and they both froze as they realized the position they were in.  She had the weapon; he had magic enough to transform himself into a dragon.  But who would get in the first move?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you sure we aren't going to lose him?" Lillith inquired worriedly from her place behind Virtue on their horse.  "He has a couple of hours' head start on us and we aren't moving all that fast."

Virtue and Lillith having to ride double, and Luke riding with his hands tied onto the front of the saddle, wasn't working in their favor in terms of speed.

"Relax," Virtue assured her.  "We have plenty of time to catch up to Val before he reaches the tavern."

"How can you know that?" David questioned from off to their left.

Luke was making muffled noises through his gag, and vague motions as best as he could manage with his hands bound and trapped before him.  They all knew he was attempting to tell them to remove the piece of cloth, since they were no longer in danger of having him blow their covert rescue operation, but no one wanted to spoil the welcomed silence by freeing his tongue.  "Just a little while longer," David had murmured to the other pair, and both had heartily agreed.

"I just know," Virtue answered now, unable to explain to them how since she had somewhat vaguely once agreed not to bring _that_ reason up to anyone, and she had no intention of embarrassing her brother in front of others by revealing his little secret.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You stupid beast!"  This was ridiculous, Valor thought to himself as he inched along on his horse.  Yes, he had named it "Cautious" for a reason, but this was beyond acceptable.  The idiot creature took each step like he was carefully picking his way through a floor covered in shards of broken glass.

The note had said for him to be at Drunk Man's Dive this _morning.  He had only a couple of hours left until noon and if this horse did not pick up its pace, he wouldn't make the deadline.  The mere thought of what might become of Vivienne if he failed made him shudder.  It wasn't only concern for her that made him so apprehensive, but what the idea of what might become of him.  He couldn't return home a failure, and all simply because his horse was too damn slow._

How did one go about making his horse travel faster?  Ah yes, they usually kicked it slightly in the sides, like this.  Valor prodded the animal gently with his feet.  Nothing.

Okay, maybe he hadn't done it hard enough.  He repeated the motion, with a little more force.  Still nothing.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" he exclaimed, bringing his feet down for a third time, much harder than his previous attempts.  With a loud whinny, the horse launched forward, and Valor clutched the reins tightly to keep from falling off.  After a moment, he decided that wasn't enough, and he threw his arms around Cautious' neck, making sincere, heartfelt apologies into the animal's ear.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Virtue studied the tracks from the ground, brow furrowed in confusion.  "I don't get it, why is heading off in this direction?  The tavern is that way," she pointed to a route that led in a perfect ninety degrees from where Valor's trail led away.

"Do you suppose we should follow him?" David asked as she hoisted herself back up onto her horse.

"I guess," she answered.  "Maybe he knows a shortcut."

David glanced toward his brother, who was looking a little worse for the wear after his prolonged period of silence.  "And we should probably take off Luke's gag."  Interest suddenly piqued, Luke nodded enthusiastically.  "Untie him too, since we're far enough away now.  Even if he did go back, it wouldn't matter.  That is, if he could find his way back."

At his words, Luke visibly deflated.  Then he let out what they interpreted as a sigh from the slight heave of his shoulders before gesturing toward his hands.  Getting no objection from either of the girls, David removed the rope.  Once freed, Luke's first task was the removal of his gag.

He took a deep gulp of air and opened his mouth—

"One smart remark and the gag goes back on," David inserted.

Luke's mouth snapped shut.

So they took Virtue's lead, following the tracks left behind by Valor and his horse as they wound about in an erratic path.  Finally, after several minutes, Virtue came to an abrupt stop, halting the procession along with her.  "He's going in circles," she declared with a shake of her head.  "There's no use following him—we'll just waste our time.  If we go straight, we might be able to get there about the same time he does.  Maybe even before him."

"Why would he be going in circles?" Lillith remarked, perplexed.

Unable to rely, Virtue merely shrugged.  He was a bad rider, all right, but certainly he couldn't be _that bad.  Could he?_

TBC 

**Next time:**  Fun at the tavern!


	23. Trouble's a'brewin

**A/N:**  Ah, so a lot of you are throwing up your votes on who's behind the mistaken kidnapping.  The truth is some of you have already guessed my original tentative choice, and since I want this story to be anything but predictable, now even _I'm_ not sure who it was.  Oh well, hopefully it'll work itself out.

**Chapter 23**

**"Trouble's a'brewin"**

"Terry, I'm tired.  When we are we going to stop?"

"Not until the others do."

"I'm hungry."

"Here, have some crackers."

"I don't want crackers."

"Well, it's all you can have.  We'll need the rest for later."

"My bottom hurts."

"It comes with all the riding."

"I have to pee."

"I told you to go before we left!"

"I didn't have to go then."

Terrence sighed and finally stopped the horse, drawing it off to the side of the trail.  He climbed off first, then lifted Rebecca off the saddle and placed her on the ground.  "Alright, go," he directed, pointing towards the nearby trees.  Turning his back and crossing his arms over his chest, he tapped his toe impatiently.

A little while later, she called out, "I can't go."

"What do you mean you can't go?" he cried out.  "You said you had to pee, so pee!"

A long pause.  Then, "I can't."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.  "So you _don't_ have to go?"

"Um, no."

He rolled his eyes.  "No what?  No you don't, or no you do?"

"No I do."  A brief hesitation.  "But I can't."

"Argh!  So what am _I_ supposed to do about it?"

"Um," he heard her contemplate.  "Sometimes whistling helps."

"_What?_"

"You know, cause it sounds kind of like"—a slight giggling followed—"tinkle."

Terrence stood silent as he absorbed that new piece of information.  "I can't whistle."

"But _Terry_…"

"Okay, okay.  I'll give it my best shot."  He licked his lips and formed an 'o' with his mouth.  After several failed attempts, he managed to emit a sound that vaguely resembled a whistle.  A while later, he could form those sounds into a tune.  By the time Rebecca had finished her business and emerged from the bushes, they both agreed he was quite good.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Can I take yer horse, sir?"  A young boy propelled forward as both horse and rider approached the tavern.

"Yes," Valor replied, slipping out of the saddle with a grunt and making an ungraceful landing.  "Take it out back and shoot it."

"Sir?" the startled boy replied, eyebrows disappearing under a pile of shaggy hair of nondescript color.

Valor sighed.  "Never mind.  Just get this beast out of my sight."  He glared at the horse and handed the boy a coin.  Cautious snorted back at him before being led away to the small stable where a few other animals awaited the return of their owners.

When he entered the familiar tavern, so aptly named the Drunk Man's Dive, a great sense of relief washed over him.  Once, many years back, the place had been known as Lou's, but since no one exactly knew _who_ Lou was, and there were at least three other Lou's in town—a tailor, a blacksmith, and an innkeeper who also provided drinks to customers—the place had eventually found itself renamed.

"Al!" a boisterous voice greeted him as he entered the establishment.

Valor grinned at the big burly man who had spoken.  "Hey Jonah," he returned, taking a seat at an empty table as the establishment's long-time owner—who didn't know the identity of the elusive 'Lou' either—joined him.

"Al, my boy, where ya been?  Haven't seen ya around in a while now."  Jonah gave him a mock disapproving glare.

"Oh, I've had things to take care of lately.  You know, duties, obligations, that sort," he said evasively.  Jonah, like everyone else Valor associated with when he went out, had no idea who he really was.  'Al' was just a regular guy, a nobody who enjoyed a few drinks and some company every so often, and sometime came in with a small band of dwarves—who, by the way, really knew how to let loose—or sometimes alone.  They didn't know he was also Prince _Valor_, the future heir to the throne, who merely traveled under the pseudonym to avoid being recognized.  And that was how he preferred to keep it.

"Right," Jonah laughed, slapping a thick hand on Valor's back, nearly knocking the other man out of his seat.  "_You_ with obligations and duties?  Face it, yer a bum Al, just like the rest o' these guys," he waved an expansive hand at his customers.  "And that's why we like ya so much.  Ain't that right, fellas?" he called out.

"Hrmm," came the response, most of the patrons being too drunk or too involved in other conversations to care much for what their host was saying.  Besides, Jonah went off like this a good half-dozen times each day.

"So what can I get ya?" he asked.

"A drink," Valor replied.  "A very _large_ drink.  Or just a series of smaller ones."  After his little excursion, he certainly could use the alcohol.  He was having so much trouble just _getting_ anywhere, that he shuddered to think how he would fare once he actually faced off against this drag—

Oh right, the dragon… and Vivienne.  The purpose behind his visit suddenly came back to him.

He waited until Jonah had returned with his drink.  The large man didn't usually do much of the serving himself, but it was morning still, and business wouldn't pick up for another couple of hours at least.  Only the most diligent of drunks usually managed to sneak in at this time of the day, or those travelers who stopped by on their way through the town.

"So," he began uncertainly, "I was told, by someone, that I could pick something up here?  Something that was left for me?"

Jonah scratched his chin through a thick red beard.  "Somethin'?  What sorta somethin' are ya lookin' for?"

"Uh, that's the thing," he answered, frowning slightly, "I don't exactly know what.  Just that I was supposed to come here today."  Well, at least he was _hoping_ it was something he had to pick up, although he supposed the possibilities were endless.  Surely the dragon wouldn't want to _meet_ him here.  A small tavern in the middle of some no-name town—although, Valor thought with a roll of his eyes, knowing this place, it was probably named Lou's—wasn't ideally suited for any sort of confrontation.

"Now that ya mention it," Jonah spoke loudly, interrupting Valor's thoughts, "There was somethin' dropped by earlier today.  Didn't make the connection though, seein' as the person didn't leave a name, just a description."  He glanced him over, "Yeah, I s'pose you fit it!  Hmm, just never figured it'd be our Al… looks like you have some duties after all.  Lemme go get it."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At the same time that Valor reached the tavern, Virtue and Lillith, David, and Luke rode into the small town, a safe distance behind him.  They hung back, out of sight, until Virtue indicated it was safe to move further.  "Alright, he's gone in.  We can go in for a closer look."

"So," Luke said after a moment, "Now that we're far enough away from the castle and we _are_ stopping anyway, don't you think it's safe to leave me to my own devices?"  He shifted impatiently in his saddle, bored out of his mind after the last few hours of riding.

"Hmm," Virtue pondered, "You know, he's right.  If he's not going to be helping us, there's no point dragging him along."

True though that was, David eyed his brother skeptically.  "You _want_ us to leave you _here_?" he gestured toward their surroundings.

Luke followed his gaze, taking in the uneven dirt roads, the crude constructions lining them, and the general scarcity of attractions to occupy his attention for long.  "No, I guess not," he finally replied.  Virtue looked disappointed, and Lillith a little wary, but neither said anything.

They reached the front of the tavern and Virtue climbed off her horse.  "We should go in," she directed at David.  "Just in case Val needs backup, and to see what's going on."  She turned to the other two.  "You two stay outside with the horses, but out of sight in case he comes out before we can warn you."

Just as she finished doling out her instructions, a boy bound up to the group.  "Would ya like me t' take yer horses?" he inquired, pointing toward the small covered area that passed for a stable.

"No thanks," David answered.  "Our friends will be staying out here.  They'll look after them."  The boy nodded and loped off to the barrel on which he'd been sitting before their arrival.  Then he proceeded to sort through a pile of worn books that he pulled out of a small canvas sack.

Luke and Lillith led the three horses around the corner where they wouldn't be spotted by anyone going in or coming out of the building, while David and Virtue discreetly entered the establishment.

~*~*~*~

Luke cleared his throat over the awkward silence, his gaze shifting quickly between his suddenly very interesting shoes, Lillith, and back to those fascinating shoes.  "Listen," he began, "about last night…"

"You don't have to explain," she interrupted hastily.

"Okay."

Lillith looked at him sharply, saying nothing for a moment.  "Okay?" she repeated incredulously.

"Uh, yeah…" he said uncertainly.

"That's all you have to say for yourself?"

Confusion filtered into Luke's eyes.  "You said I didn't have to explain, so I'm, um, agreeing with you."

Lillith glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest.  "You're not supposed to _agree_ with me.  You're supposed to explain anyway."

"According to who?" he asked defensively.  "If someone says you don't have to explain, that means you don't have to explain."  When she said nothing, only stared at him angrily, he threw up his hands in exasperation.  "I'm not a mind reader… if you say one thing, you can't expect me to know that you mean something completely different."

"It's common sense!" she retorted.  "You can't just do something like, like… _that_, and not explain yourself!"

"Explain what?  '_That_'?  _That_ was nothing—it didn't mean anything!"  Oops.  The moment the words were out of his mouth, Luke knew he'd said the wrong thing.  Or the right thing, the wrong way. He had meant to explain it with some consideration to her feelings—as much consideration as he could ever manage—but it looked like he hadn't quite succeeded.

Lillith's brown eyes widened then narrowed.  Her lips thinned and her jaw visibly clenched.  He had thought she might start to cry; instead she looked like she wanted to use him for target practice.  "Fine," she said in a low voice.  "If it was nothing, then we don't have to worry about it.  We don't have to bring it up—ever again."

"Fine," he returned.  Then he paused, and brow furrowing, looked at her again.  "This isn't another one of those situations where I'm _not_ supposed to agree with you, is it?"

"You are an idiot!"  With that she turned and stormed off.  Well, she didn't get very far since they were still supposed to be waiting for Virtue and David, but to emphasize her point she turned her back on him, choosing to stare instead at the nearby stable.

Luke shrugged.  "Girls," he muttered with a shake of his head.

"Don't understand 'em, huh?" a voice inquired.  "Well I got somethin' that'll help ya out real good."  Turning, Luke found himself staring at the boy who had offered to take their horses.  In his hands, the boy was holding the books he'd been shifting through earlier.

"Name's Jeffy," he offered with a grin.

"Luke," he reciprocated.  "What are you talking about Jeffy?"

"Why, these," Jeffy replied, waving the books.  "My sisters' diaries.  Ever wondered about the inner workings of the female mind?  Well, wonder no more… all the answers lie in these pages."

"Your sisters' diaries?" Luke cocked an eyebrow.  "And do they have any idea what you're doing with them?"

Jeffy shook his head quickly, eyes wide.  "'Course not!  They'd skin me alive if they knew, they would!"  He glanced about furtively, as if the mere mention of his sisters would suddenly somehow bring them running.

"Then why are you doing this?" he asked curiously.  Not that he didn't admire the boy's his entrepreneurial nature; he just wondered what would force him to brave the anger of his feared sisters.

"Well, you see," Jeffy explained, leaning in confidentially, "I'm savin' up for these beans."

Luke blinked.  "Beans?"

Jeffy nodded enthusiastically.  "Magic beans."

"Magic beans… like in the story?"

"Now don't you go scoffin' them," Jeffy warned.  "Remember, they turned out to be real.  And then up came the beanstalk, leadin' to the giant's castle, with all its riches an' such."

Luke was about to respond, but a sudden commotion from the tavern interrupted their conversation.  He glanced up quickly and caught Lillith's worried gaze.  Then Virtue and David burst through doors, Valor hot on their trail.

"Get the horses!"

TBC 

Star* ~ T(o) B(e) C(ontinued)

Jeffy comes to us courtesy of **Kerista**, who won the renaming the Charmings contest.


End file.
